Dylan McIlrath only received 5:58 of ice time in the Washington Capitals’ 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens, but the defenseman made the most of his 10 shifts, especially one in particular in the second period.
With 12:05 remaining in the stanza and the Capitals down 2-0, McIlrath leveled Jayden Struble with a huge hit in the neutral zone as the Canadiens forward deflected a pass into the offensive zone.
Seven seconds later, Arber Xhekaj was in McIlrath’s grill, looking to avenge the hit, and the two large heavyweights dropped the gloves with each other for the first time in the NHL.
The two combatants only threw meek punches as the 6-foot-4 Xhekaj and the 6-foot-5 McIlrath spent much of the bout trying to wrestle their arms free. Eventually, Xhekaj earned the takedown, where he threw several rabbit punches to the back of McIlrath’s head.
Both players earned matching five-minute majors for fighting, but McIlrath earned the Capitals a power play after Xhekaj was assessed an extra two-minute minor for instigating and a 10-minute misconduct.
The bout was McIlrath’s second this season; he previously fought the Anaheim Ducks’ Ross Johnston in the Jacob Trouba revenge game. His fight with Xhekaj comes after the two both earned fines last season from the NHL for unsportsmanlike conduct they exhibited before a Capitals-Canadiens’ playoff game.
The McIlrath fight seemed to wake up the Capitals, who scored three unanswered goals after the bout: two from Ethen Frank in the third period and one from Connor McMichael in overtime.
McIlrath’s tide-turning shift came in his 100th career game in the NHL. He got a special shoutout from Spencer Carbery inside the locker room after the team’s victory.
“And Mac getting it going!” Carbery said as the players clapped. “”F***ing rights, Mac. Game 100, too.”
To reach 100 games in the NHL, McIlrath — over a period of 13 years — suited up in 38 games for the New York Rangers, 5 with the Florida Panthers, 23 with the Detroit Red Wings, and 28 with the Washington Capitals.
