Sean Avery And The Differences In Hockey Fights

The dichotomy of hockey fighting was made more apparent than usual yesterday. In one, John Erskine and Eric Boulton valiantly pummeled each other. In the other, Sean Avery acted like an asshole, sucker-punched a guy, and started a brawl.

Erskine and Boulton decided to throw down about mid-way through the second period of yesterday's Thrashers-Capitals game. It devolved into a bare-knuckled brawl on skates really quickly.

This fight was so "good" that players on the benches were just as interested in the Jumbotron replay as the crowd.

Now, let's take a look at how Sean Avery fights. There are a few steps. First: hit a forward (Colin Fraser) along the boards. Second: jaw with a defenseman (Ladislav Smid) but back off when confronted. Three: sucker-punch a defenseman (Smid, again). Four: watch as brawls break out around the rink. Five: be lucky enough to be escorted out by a referee to maintain "image." Let's watch.

Sean Avery is really lucky the NHL doesn't do honor killings.