After Maple Leafs’ John Tavares injured, Nick Foligno fights Canadiens’ Corey Perry; Twitter asks why

Maple Leafs captain John Tavares was injured in a scary play Thursday night in the team’s North Division first-round opener against the Canadiens.

After getting knocked down by Ben Chiarot in the neutral zone in the first period, the defenseless Tavares was clipped in the face by the knee of Corey Perry.

So, like any good teammate, Nick Foligno dropped the gloves with Perry at the next faceoff. 

But was it the right call to have the Canadiens forward answer the bell? Maybe not. The play looked 100 percent accidental. Granted, Foligno only saw it happen in real time.

Now, does Perry have the cleanest record? No. He has built up a resume of injuring the opposition — most notably getting tossed just minutes into the 2020 Winter Classic after elbowing the Predators’ Ryan Ellis in the head and giving fans the longest walk of shame in NHL history to the locker room. Perry was suspended for five games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

Of course, hockey Twitter weighed in on whether the fight was warranted or necessary.