Marcus Foligno has been known to whoop a guy’s ass a time or two… or forty five.
The Minnesota Wild forward wound up in his 45th-career NHL scrap last night, this time with San Jose Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov. And Foligno gave the 22-year-old rookie a warm welcome to the NHL…
Lucky for Knyzhov, Foligno called for a linesman to break it up after one or two, maybe even three… ok A LOT of Foligno’s right crosses left a gash the size of Texas on Knyzhov’s face.
Foligno had this to say to Star Tribune about the dust up:
“I thought it was enough. I give the kid a lot of credit. I think there’s things you do when you’re young to answer the bell and you have to do it and you gain a lot of respect from your teammates.
So, I’m sure he got that tonight. But there’s no point. Move on. I thought it was kind of over after a couple of punches. That’s all. I’ve had guys let up on me before. It’s just respectful.”
I have a lotta respect for Foligno after last night though, he knew when enough was enough. I mean, there’s only so many times a guy can take a fist to the face before it’s over. Too bad Spencer Jones wasn’t fighting him…
And the props to the kid for showing some real toughness. A few stiches and he’ll be just fine, but more importantly, he earns the respect of his team. Fellow defensemen Brent Burns commended his guts in the postgame presser:
But next time, if there is a next time… Foligno might not be quite as kind.
