Leafs Simon Benoit Attempts Wild Superman Punch, Pops His Finger Back Into Place Afterward
There have been some monster fights so far this NHL season, but I don't know that any caught my attention as much as Simon Benoit of the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on Michael Kesselring of the Utah Hockey Club on Monday evening.
Why?
Because the Superman punch is back, baby!
The Leafs traveled to Utah as they continued to battle for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Oddly enough, the Delta Center is where you want to take on the Utah Hockey Club because despite being just a few points out of a wild card spot in the Western Conference, they're sub-.500 at home. Weird.
Anyway, things got a little testy, and about five minutes into the second period, Benoit and Kesselring decided to drop the mitts and throw down they did with Benoit opening the scrap by going airborne.
Okay, that looked cool as hell, but it didn't look like it worked out too well for Benoit. It appeared to me Kesselring dodged most of it and then fed Benoit some lunch.
But check this out: I'm not sure if it was the Superman punch (although, I'd be willing to bet that it was), but Benout had a problem with his thumb in the penalty box, and because he's a certified Hockey guy, he took care of business on his own.
Look at that. That's a season-ending injury in the NBA.
That was impressive, but it wasn't the best Superman punch in hockey history. that honor goes to the guy who made that rare move famous, Kevin Bieksa.
There were a few times Bieksa tried this — always in fights where the guy he was fighting played it conservatively and didn't wait too long to engage — but the most famous instance was without a doubt when he dropped then-Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas with an unreal punch.
Now, that's a Superman punch.
Obviously, in a hockey fight, that's a high-risk, high-reward move. You either drop your opponent, or you end up sitting in the penalty box performing minor surgery on your own thumb.
As for the game, the Leafs won this one, 4-3 in a shootout.