3 – Francois Beauchemin vs Jarome Iginla (May 1st, 2006)
The 2006 playoffs were a whirlwind. Seeing the Ducks get to the West Finals as a seventh seed was incredible. The first and second round series against Calgary and then Colorado saw some great moments. While it was clear the Ducks were a piece away it was great strides in the right direction.
One of those signs was Francois Beauchemin. Beauch was a young player in 2006 and while Scott Niedermayer was the stud on the back end Ducks fans were learning why they’d come to love the big defenseman. Hard hitting, booming shot and stepping up to fight the captain of the Calgary Flames in a playoff game. Behind a home crowd Beauch challenged Iginla and not only one punched him to the ice he kept swinging after Iginla tried to get back in the fight.
This was a huge moment because the game had just begun, the crowd was loud and this set them into a frenzy. As I pointed out throughout the article that is the key to fighting. Set the tone, show you aren’t going to back down and get the crowd riled up. You get the adrenaline flowing through everyone and hopefully, a goal is soon to follow to really drive the point home.
Beauchemin has done this his whole career and while the game has now passed him by I believe most Duck fans will remember him a positive light.