NHL Fight of the Weekend: Boulton vs. Konopka

Now that the NHL playoffs are upon us, it's probably a good idea to remember that we've likely seen the last heavyweight fight in the NHL for the 2008-09 season. Like it or not, when teams head into the playoffs, their enforcers wind up as healthy scratches more often than not as teams simply can't afford to give up easy power play chances.

Sure, there are always exceptions like the brawl between Vincent Lecavalier and Jarome Iginla during the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, but for the most part the end of the regular season means the end of fisticuffs until at least training camp next September.

So with that, we share with you what looks to be the last good fight of the regular season, a tilt between Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Eric Boulton and minor league shuttle veteran Zenon Konopka:

You'll recall that last September we did a profile on Konopka and his quest to find regular shifts with the Tampa Bay Lightning after signing a two-year, two-way contract with the team before the start of the season. At the time, I wrote that Konopka, a fan favorite in the minor leagues thanks to his style of play, would probably have a tough time finding regular shifts with the Lightning this season.

That certainly turned out to be the case, as he only managed to get seven games with the big club this season. Still, even in limited action, Konopka managed to pick up five fighting majors, including a tilt against Ottawa Senators bad boy, Chris Neil. Thanks to his work in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, Konopka picked up another 18 majors while still leading the team in scoring with 57 points in 70 games.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.