The bad blood between the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames was evident during Saturday’s game at Xcel Energy Center, and the end result was a win for the Flames, multiple fights and an injury to Matt Dumba.
Right off the bat, Dumba and Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves just 40 seconds into the game, with Tkachuk going after Dumba likely in response to Dumba’s huge open-ice hit on a Mikael Backlund the last time they played Dec. 6 in Calgary.
The fight seemed harmless enough, but Dumba wound up leaving the game and did not return. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said an update on Dumba won’t be available until Monday.
Wild star defenseman Ryan Suter also dropped the gloves and landed a hard right hand to the jaw of Flames tough guy Sam Bennett, although Suter was the one bloodied in the tussle.
The vitriol between the clubs stems from the Dec. 6 meeting in which Flames captain Mark Giordano appeared to intentionally stick out his leg, clipping Mikko Koivu in the knee and sending him crashing to the ice.
Koivu was injured on the play, although fortunately, he’s expected back in the lineup any day now.
That same game ended in a near brawl when Dumba hammered Backlund with a legal, open-ice check in the final minute, which the Flames responded by sending Ryan Lomberg off the bench to tackle Dumba.
Lomberg was suspended a game and Flames coach Bill Peters was fined $10,000 for sending Lomberg in from the bench.
