Juraj Slafkovský is knocked down in a fight against Brandon Hagel

Things got pretty heated between the Lightning and the Habs in the first period tonight. Highlights included Yanni Gourde taunting Arber Xhekaj, and Corey Perry dropping the gloves against Alexandre Carrier.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

So it's no surprise that the action continued in the second period. And right from the opening minutes, we were treated to a fight.

Brandon Hagel and Juraj Slafkovský started trading heated words after a whistle… and eventually dropped their gloves.

And Slaf was sent to the ice after a solid hit from the Lightning forward.

Juraj Slafkovský and Brandon Hagel drop the gloves!!! pic.twitter.com/SFFehNw5dF

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 22, 2026

The good news is that Slaf seems to have avoided the worst. He quickly got back up and was able to stay in the game.

We saw him reassuring everyone from the penalty box, saying he was okay. Although, obviously, we don't want to see such a key part of the team's success end up in a situation like that.

We know that Slaf, in fact, is capable of holding his own. But even though he's quite a bit bigger than Hagel, we know that Hagel is capable of fighting back.

Did anyone tell you that tonight's game is as lively as can be?

Overtime

Let's not forget that this isn't the first time we've seen the Slovakian get into a fight in the NHL. But given his importance to the Habs, ideally we hope he doesn't have to do it too often.