NHL Fights 2020-21
Every NHL fight of the season from the official play-by-play: the players and teams who fight most, the latest fights with links to each game, and how fighting has changed since 2017-18.
Brady Tkachuk (OTT) leads NHL players with 7 fights in the 2020-21 regular season, 1 more than Zack MacEwen (VAN) and Austin Watson (OTT).
Most fights, 2020-21
Brady TkachukOTT7last Apr 28
Zack MacEwenVAN6last May 6
Austin WatsonOTT6last Mar 14
Brendan LemieuxLAK5last May 13
Luke SchennTBL5last May 8
Ryan LombergFLA5last May 8
Ottawa Senators0.4123 in 56 GP
Tampa Bay Lightning0.4123 in 56 GP
New York Rangers0.3922 in 56 GP
When fights happen
Of 197 regular-season fights in 2020-21, 86 came in period 1, 54 came in period 2, 57 came in period 3. 36 started in the first five minutes of a game, often a scheduled bout off the opening faceoff; 35 came with one team ahead by three or more goals and 61 with the score tied.
Fights per game by season
| Season | Games | Fights | Per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 151 | 44 | 0.29 |
| 2025-26 | 1,312 | 306 | 0.23 |
| 2024-25 | 1,312 | 297 | 0.23 |
| 2023-24 | 1,312 | 311 | 0.24 |
| 2022-23 | 1,312 | 334 | 0.25 |
| 2021-22 | 1,312 | 330 | 0.25 |
| 2020-21 | 868 | 197 | 0.23 |
| 2019-20 | 1,082 | 194 | 0.18 |
| 2018-19 | 1,271 | 226 | 0.18 |
| 2017-18 | 1,271 | 279 | 0.22 |
Regular-season games we have play-by-play for. The current season is partial.
Fight leaders, 2020-21
| # | Player | Fights | Inst. | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brady TkachukOTT | 7 | – | Zack MacEwen, Travis Hamonic, Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot +2 |
| 2 | Zack MacEwenVAN | 6 | – | Darnell Nurse, Brady Tkachuk, Logan Stanley, Derek Forbort +1 |
| 3 | Austin WatsonOTT | 6 | – | Zach Bogosian, Zac Rinaldo, Milan Lucic, Jujhar Khaira +2 |
| 4 | Brendan LemieuxLAK | 5 | – | Ryan Graves, Josh Manson, Samuel Morin, Nick Ritchie +1 |
| 5 | Luke SchennTBL | 5 | – | Ryan Lomberg, Nikita Zadorov, Jamie Oleksiak, Mathieu Olivier +1 |
| 6 | Ryan LombergFLA | 5 | 1 | Luke Schenn, Cedric Paquette, Kole Sherwood, Givani Smith +1 |
| 7 |  Brendan SmithNYR | 5 | 1 | Tom Wilson, Michael McLeod, Sam Lafferty, Nicolas Aube-Kubel |
| 8 |  Marcus FolignoMIN | 5 | – | Nicolas Hague, Robert Bortuzzo, John Hayden, Nikolai Knyzhov +1 |
| 9 |  Brenden DillonWSH | 5 | – | Teddy Blueger, Chris Wagner, Nathan Bastian, Kevin Rooney +1 |
| 10 |  Nicolas DeslauriersANA | 5 | – | Liam O'Brien, John Hayden, Kurtis Gabriel, Ryan Reaves +1 |
| 11 |  John HaydenARI | 5 | – | Sam Carrick, Nicolas Deslauriers, Marcus Foligno, Max Jones +1 |
| 12 |  Barclay GoodrowTBL | 4 | – | Noel Acciari, Jordan Martinook, Adam Erne, Ryan Lomberg |
| 13 |  Kevin RooneyNYR | 4 | – | Nic Dowd, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brenden Dillon |
| 14 |  Tom WilsonWSH | 4 | – | Brendan Smith, Trent Frederic, Jarred Tinordi |
| 15 |  Radko GudasFLA | 4 | – | Blake Comeau, Nick Cousins, Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman |
| 16 |  Michael McLeodNJD | 4 | – | Travis Sanheim, Brendan Smith, Chris Kreider |
| 17 |  Milan LucicCGY | 4 | – | Scott Sabourin, Josh Anderson, Darnell Nurse, Austin Watson |
| 18 |  Kurtis MacDermidLAK | 4 | – | Jeffrey Viel, Kurtis Gabriel, Nicolas Deslauriers, Marcus Foligno |
| 19 |  Mathieu OlivierNSH | 4 | 1 | Adam Erne, Patrick Maroon, Jamie Oleksiak, Luke Schenn |
| 20 |  Kyle CliffordSTL | 4 | – | Ryan Reaves, Kurtis Gabriel, John Hayden, Ryan Getzlaf |
Regular season. 229 players have fought.
More fighters, 2020-21
- Keegan Kolesar VGK4
- Kurtis Gabriel SJS4
- Jujhar Khaira EDM4
- Patrick Maroon TBL4
- Ben Chiarot MTL4
- Darnell Nurse EDM3
- Travis Hamonic VAN3
- Garnet Hathaway WSH3
- Robert Bortuzzo STL3
- Wayne Simmonds TOR3
- Corey Perry MTL3
- Nick Ritchie BOS3
- Andreas Athanasiou LAK3
- Jeffrey Viel SJS3
- Ryan Reaves VGK3
- Givani Smith DET3
- Ryan Getzlaf ANA3
- Brayden Schenn STL3
- Jamie Oleksiak DAL3
- Matthew Tkachuk CGY3
- Erik Gudbranson OTT3
- Trent Frederic BOS3
- Connor Mackey CGY2
- Alex Chiasson EDM2
- Anthony Bitetto NYR2
- Maxime Comtois ANA2
- Joel Farabee PHI2
- Connor Clifton BOS2
- Teddy Blueger PIT2
- Dylan Cozens BUF2
- Erik Cernak TBL2
- Jeremy Lauzon BOS2
- Matt Martin NYI2
- Nikita Zadorov CHI2
- Zdeno Chara WSH2
- Dylan Larkin DET2
- Josh Manson ANA2
- Brett Ritchie CGY2
- Joshua Brown OTT2
- Sam Bennett FLA2
169 more players fought one to a few times each.
Teams that fight the most, 2020-21
| Team | Fights | GP | Per game | Per 82 | Fighters | Most vs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 23 | 56 | 0.41 | 33.7 | 9 | VAN (8) |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 23 | 56 | 0.41 | 33.7 | 11 | FLA (7) |
| New York Rangers | 22 | 56 | 0.39 | 32.2 | 11 | WSH (7) |
 Anaheim Ducks | 20 | 56 | 0.36 | 29.3 | 10 | ARI (5) |
 Florida Panthers | 18 | 56 | 0.32 | 26.4 | 10 | TBL (7) |
 Vancouver Canucks | 18 | 56 | 0.32 | 26.4 | 11 | OTT (8) |
 Washington Capitals | 18 | 56 | 0.32 | 26.4 | 8 | NYR (7) |
 St. Louis Blues | 16 | 56 | 0.29 | 23.4 | 9 | ANA (4) |
 Boston Bruins | 15 | 56 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 7 | WSH (5) |
 San Jose Sharks | 15 | 56 | 0.27 | 22.0 | 9 | ANA (4) |
 Minnesota Wild | 14 | 56 | 0.25 | 20.5 | 9 | STL (4) |
 Calgary Flames | 13 | 56 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 6 | EDM (4) |
 Edmonton Oilers | 13 | 56 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 7 | CGY (4) |
 Montreal Canadiens | 13 | 56 | 0.23 | 19.0 | 7 | OTT (4) |
 Dallas Stars | 12 | 56 | 0.21 | 17.6 | 9 | FLA (3) |
 Nashville Predators | 12 | 56 | 0.21 | 17.6 | 8 | TBL (5) |
 Colorado Avalanche | 11 | 56 | 0.20 | 16.1 | 9 | ANA (2) |
 Los Angeles Kings | 11 | 56 | 0.20 | 16.1 | 5 | SJS (4) |
 Vegas Golden Knights | 11 | 56 | 0.20 | 16.1 | 5 | SJS (3) |
 Arizona Coyotes | 10 | 56 | 0.18 | 14.6 | 4 | ANA (5) |
 Detroit Red Wings | 10 | 56 | 0.18 | 14.6 | 6 | FLA (3) |
 New Jersey Devils | 10 | 56 | 0.18 | 14.6 | 7 | NYR (4) |
 Philadelphia Flyers | 10 | 56 | 0.18 | 14.6 | 7 | NYR (3) |
 Columbus Blue Jackets | 9 | 56 | 0.16 | 13.2 | 8 | DET (2) |
 Pittsburgh Penguins | 8 | 56 | 0.14 | 11.7 | 7 | NYR (2) |
 Toronto Maple Leafs | 8 | 56 | 0.14 | 11.7 | 6 | CGY (2) |
 Winnipeg Jets | 8 | 56 | 0.14 | 11.7 | 6 | OTT (3) |
 Buffalo Sabres | 6 | 56 | 0.11 | 8.8 | 5 | BOS (2) |
 Carolina Hurricanes | 6 | 56 | 0.11 | 8.8 | 6 | TBL (2) |
 Chicago Blackhawks | 6 | 56 | 0.11 | 8.8 | 5 | DAL (2) |
 New York Islanders | 5 | 56 | 0.09 | 7.3 | 4 | PHI (2) |
A fight counts once for each team in it. Early in a season a single rivalry game can top this table: per-team rates are noise until teams have played a few dozen games.
Last fights of 2020-21
| Date | Fight | When | Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21 | Yanni Gourde TBL vs Adam Pelech NYI | P3 16:30 · 0-8 · playoffs | NYI at TBL |
| Jun 21 | Matt Martin NYI vs Luke Schenn TBL | P2 17:08 · 0-5 · playoffs | NYI at TBL |
| Jun 15 | Patrick Maroon TBL vs Matt Martin NYI | P1 13:45 · 1-1 · playoffs | NYI at TBL |
| Jun 5 | Jarred Tinordi BOS vs Matt Martin NYI | P1 9:23 · 0-0 · playoffs | BOS at NYI |
| Jun 5 | Scott Mayfield NYI vs Taylor Hall BOS | P1 7:28 · 0-0 · playoffs | BOS at NYI |
| May 26 | Mathew Dumba MIN vs Alec Martinez VGK | P2 12:44 · 0-0 · playoffs | VGK at MIN |
| May 20 | Corey Perry MTL vs Nick Foligno TOR | P1 10:30 · 0-0 · playoffs | MTL at TOR |
| May 18 | Connor Mackey CGY vs Bo Horvat VAN | P2 10:29 · 0-2 | CGY at VAN |
| May 17 | Gabriel Landeskog COL vs Brayden Schenn STL | P1 10:47 · 0-0 · playoffs | STL at COL |
| May 16 | Connor Mackey CGY vs Jonah Gadjovich VAN | P2 6:20 · 2-0 | CGY at VAN |
| May 13 | Ryan Graves COL vs Brendan Lemieux LAK | P2 17:50 · 1-4 | LAK at COL |
| May 10 | Tyler Lewington NSH vs Max McCormick CAR | P1 13:56 · 0-2 | CAR at NSH |
| May 10 | Daniel Walcott TBL vs Kevin Connauton FLA | P2 13:42 · 0-2 | TBL at FLA |
| May 8 | Barclay Goodrow TBL vs Noel Acciari FLA | P3 17:17 · 1-5 | TBL at FLA |
| May 8 | Ryan Lomberg FLA vs Luke Schenn TBL | P2 6:17 · 1-2 | TBL at FLA |
| May 6 | Darnell Nurse EDM vs Zack MacEwen VAN | P3 2:36 · 5-2 | VAN at EDM |
| May 6 | Alex Chiasson EDM vs Travis Hamonic VAN | P2 9:36 · 4-2 | VAN at EDM |
| May 5 | Nicolas Hague VGK vs Marcus Foligno MIN | P1 16:55 · 0-0 | VGK at MIN |
| May 5 | Niko Mikkola STL vs Maxime Comtois ANA | P1 6:55 · 0-0 | ANA at STL |
| May 5 | Anthony Bitetto NYR vs Michael Raffl WSH | P1 4:14 · 0-0 | WSH at NYR |
Score is away-home when the fight started.
How we count NHL fights
A fight is a fighting major in the NHL play-by-play. Both players usually get one at the same moment, so the pair counts as one fight and each fighter is credited once. When only one player gets the major, the opponent comes from the penalty's "drawn by" field. Instigator minors at the same moment are noted. Boards use the regular season; the recent list includes the playoffs.
Fight totals are small numbers. A team's fights per game move a lot on one rivalry night or one call-up, and a player's count depends on how many games his coach dresses him. In 2020-21 the league had 197 regular-season fights in 868 games (0.23 a game); in 2017-18 it was 0.22 a game, in 2025-26 0.23.
For fantasy leagues that count penalty minutes, a fighting major is five PIM, so the leaders here are the players who swing a PIM category. Fights are not a betting edge here: we hold no prices for the occasional "fight in game" props some books post, and per-team rates this small are mostly noise from game to game.
Frequently asked questions
Who has the most fights in the NHL in 2020-21?
Brady Tkachuk had the most fights in the 2020-21 regular season, 7; Zack MacEwen is next with 6.
Which NHL team fights the most in 2020-21?
OTT had 23 fights in 56 regular-season games (33.7 per 82 games), the most per game in the league in 2020-21.
How many fights are there per NHL game?
In 2020-21 there were 197 fights in 868 regular-season games, or 0.23 a game. That compares with 0.22 a game in 2017-18 and 0.23 in 2025-26.
When do NHL fights happen?
Of the 197 regular-season fights in 2020-21, 44% came in the first period and 18% with one team ahead by three goals or more.