- Trent Frederic dropped the gloves with Ryan Lindgren in their first meeting since the Evan Bouchard hit
- Lindgren knocked Bouchard out of the World Championship with a high hit in May
- Read below for video of the fight and Leon Draisaitl’s late winner
Trent Frederic didn’t wait long to settle things with Ryan Lindgren.
The Oilers forward squared off with the Kraken defenseman at 10:14 of the first period Saturday at Rogers Place. It was Lindgren’s first game against Edmonton since he knocked Evan Bouchard out of the World Championship in May. Both players got five-minute fighting majors.
Watch the fight:
Frederic and Lindgren traded rights near the boards before both went down to the ice, where the officials stepped in to break it up.
Here’s the backstory. Lindgren, playing for Team USA, caught Bouchard with a high hit at 6:12 of the first period of Canada’s 4-0 quarterfinal win in Switzerland on May 28. Bouchard appeared to be out cold on the ice and needed help getting to the room.
Lindgren got a five-minute major for an illegal check to the head and was tossed from the game. Bouchard didn’t play again at the tournament.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman gave an update the next day. He said his top defenseman was injured but “doing well” and called it “a terrible hit.”
Edmonton broadcaster Bob Stauffer connected the dots as soon as the two lined up:
Bouchard has been flying to start the year. He set an NHL record with eight points through Edmonton’s first two games, the most ever by a defenseman. He was held off the scoresheet against Seattle but logged 27:01 of ice time.
As for the game, Owen Michaels opened the scoring 2:51 in. Brandon McMann tied it on a second-period power play, and the score stayed 1-1 until late in the third.
Leon Draisaitl finally broke the tie with 2:27 to go, and Connor McDavid sealed the 3-1 win with an empty-netter 82 seconds later. Catch Draisaitl’s go-ahead goal:
Devon Levi stopped 19 of 20 shots as the Oilers improved to 2-0-1.
Bad blood carried right to the final horn. Mattias Ekholm and Brandon Montour each picked up 10-minute misconducts after McDavid’s empty-netter.
