Oilers' Janmark pounds in Blake Coleman after massive hit on McDavid

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Liam McCormick
February 24, 2024 (9:53 PM)

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The Oilers and Flames met tonight for a classic Battle of Alberta match. The game was full of scoring and physical play, including an incredible fight from the unsuspecting fourth liner Mattias Janmark. After Blake Coleman rocked McDavid with a hard hit earlier, Janmark went after Coleman on sight and unexpectedly filled him in.

Janmark has never had a reputation for being a fighter, but Coleman is known as a tough veteran forward. Still, Janmark surprisingly more than hung in the fight, he got the best of Coleman. Ok the second goal of the game, McDavid took a huge hit to make a breakaway pass to Zach Hyman, and it looks like that's what set Janmark off.

It's incredible to see a fourth liner like Janmark, not known at all for his physical play, to step up and go after a tougher opponent for hitting the team's star player. This kind of team unified physical play is integral to having any sort of playoff success - so it's great to see it in the regular season.

Unfortunately, it didn't have the intended effect of sparking the Oilers to complete the comeback. Soon after, the Flames were able to score two more goals, taking a commanding 5-2 lead on the game. If nothing comes of the rest of the game for the Oilers, at least they can go down playing a physical game throughout the team, and literally go down swinging.