Rachel Barkley
Going into Saturday’s game, it was expected that the Carolina Hurricanes might have a gritty match against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lead the league in penalty minutes. However, what may not have been on many folks’ bingo cards was Seth Jarvis recording his first career NHL fight.
It came on the same night that his mother, Tracey Jarvis, read off the starting lineup in the dressing room for the Hurricanes’ biennial mothers’ trip.
Before the gloves hit the cold, hard ice, Sebastian Aho landed on it first after a check from Zemgus Girgensons on the bench-side of the ice in the neutral zone. While the hit was clean, it was not one the Hurricanes liked – especially his linemate Jarvis. Without any delay, Jarvis got a hold of Girgensons and shook off the gloves. The fight only lasted eight seconds, and his opponent had the upper hand – with nine fights in his own NHL career – but the fire to do it spoke volumes for the Hurricanes’ right wing.
“It wasn’t a bad hit,” Jarvis said during the first intermission interview. “But thought it was something I didn’t love.
“Whenever I see one of my teammates – one of my family – get kinda taken advantage of. I thought no better time than with my mom in the stands to try and fight…It’s definitely not something I’m used to, but something I’m willing to do for my teammates.”
WATCH: Seth Jarvis Defends Sebastian Aho, Drops the Gloves with Zemgus Girgensons
