The play-in series of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs have not lacked physicality and game 2 of the Coyotes and Predators series was no different.
Although no one expected two guys who played 3 years of juniors together to drop the mitts!
On the powerplay with just over 3 minutes to go in the first period, Coyotes forward Taylor Hall received a pass just outside the Predators blue line.
Hall was met by Predators defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis right inside the Predators blue line when Hall attempted cut back to his left and dangle former Windsor Spitfire (OHL) teammate, Ryan Ellis.
This is where things start to heat up…
Upon Taylor Hall‘s cutback, Ryan Ellis stepped up to check the streaking forward, finishing high with his right shoulder and elbow. But Hall used his extra 25 pounds and 3 inches in height to topple Ellis and put him on his backside.
But it didn’t end there…
Clearly agitated by Ryan Ellis‘s elbow and attempt to drop him, Taylor Hall looked back and clearly asked his former junior teammate to drop the mitts and settle the dispute.
It ended as quickly as it started…
It didn’t take long for Ellis to oblige Hall’s request but after throwing one right hook, found himself unbalanced on underneath Hall on the ice where they proceeded to wrestle until the linesman could get into the separate the brief tilt.
Tough to say who actually won this tilt as neither player appeared to land a clean punch.
Truthfully, it was a huge loss for both teams as Taylor Hall regularly leads all Coyote forwards in ice time, while Ellis averages the 2nd-3rd most ice time on his team, with only Roman Josi consistently eating more minutes.
Regardless of who won or not, Hall and Ellis played 168 regular season games together as Windsor Spitfire teammates from 2007-2010 where they won back-to-back Memorial Cup Championships.
Former junior teammates or not, no love is lost during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, apparently!
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