- Jamie Benn and Marcus Foligno dropped the gloves in the third period of Dallas’ preseason finale against Minnesota
- Thomas Harley and Justin Hryckowian threw punches of their own as the benches emptied behind them
- Read below for how the whole scrum went down and where each team stands ahead of opening night
Jamie Benn finally dropped the gloves against Minnesota.
The Stars captain and Wild forward Marcus Foligno squared off in the third period of Friday’s preseason finale at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, and the benches emptied behind them. Watch the fight below:
Thomas Harley started it. Matt Boldy caught Esa Lindell with a high stick to the face, and Harley wasted no time going after him. He got the better of Boldy before the linesmen pulled them apart, according to Stars Thoughts’ Robert Tiffin.
That’s when Nick and Marcus Foligno hopped over the boards and went after Benn. Justin Hryckowian saw his captain getting ganged up on two-to-one and jumped in. He ended up trading punches with 6-foot-6, 230-pound Cal McCarron instead of a Foligno.
Hryckowian is listed at 5-foot-11 and 198 pounds. He held his own anyway.
Benn and Foligno have history. Foligno needled Benn all through their first-round playoff series last spring for avoiding fights, and Benn was fined for a cross-check on Ryan Hartman in that same matchup.
Dallas won this one 2-1, according to NHL.com’s preseason recap. Radek Faksa and Harley scored for the Stars, and Joel Eriksson Ek had the lone goal for Minnesota. Casey DeSmith made 26 saves, and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 16.
Tyler Seguin made his long-awaited return in the same game, playing 13:57 in his first appearance since tearing his ACL last December. Seguin was asked what it felt like to be back on the ice.
“It’s great. Feels like your first game all over again,” Seguin said. “In one way it’s nice to get that out of the way, in another way it was just so much fun.”
The win capped a perfect preseason for Dallas. The Stars open the regular season Oct. 2 at home against St. Louis, and the Wild start Thursday at Nashville. The two teams don’t meet again until Jan. 30, but neither side figures to forget Friday night before then.
