BRIGHTON, Mass. — On Saturday night, in the first period of Maple Leafs-Bruins at TD Garden, Wayne Simmonds put Nick Foligno on the ice with a thunderous but clean check along the boards. 

Play might have proceeded. But Brandon Carlo approached Simmonds. The defenseman gave Simmonds a jostle to signal his disapproval of how he’d treated his teammate. The former Blue Jackets captain is not one to let someone else do his dirty work, though.

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“He looked like he wanted to go with Brando,” Foligno recalled on Tuesday after the Bruins’ practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “I said, ‘No, no, no. I’ll take over here.’ ”

Simmonds fights Foligno courtesy of Joe Bowen and Jim Ralph. #LeafsForever @BonsieTweets @Jim_Ralph

14/1/2023 pic.twitter.com/axvbf0UJwi

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In other circumstances, a fight would not have taken place. For example, had it been Mitch Marner, Toronto’s skilled (52 points) but sprightly (6-foot, 181 pounds) winger delivering the check, the 6-foot, 210-pound Foligno would have been out of line instigating a scrap. If the encounter had happened in the third period, with the Bruins up by a goal, the fourth-liner would have risked giving the Leafs momentum by dropping his gloves.

But everything about the situation gave Foligno, 35, and Simmonds, 34, the green light to proceed. They both play on their respective fourth lines. Simmonds (6-foot-2, 184 pounds) and Foligno are of similar builds. They are known as physical players who know how to handle gloves-off business. It was the fourth shift of a “Hockey Night in Canada” showdown between the first- and second-place teams in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins were coming off their first regulation home loss of 2022-23.

“I said, ‘Let’s go,’” Foligno said. “He started smiling like, ‘Yeah?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’”

They agreed. Foligno and Simmonds ditched their gloves and sticks. Both adjusted their sleeves. After they both grabbed a hold of each other’s jerseys, Simmonds threw the first punch. More would come.

Teammates in Toronto

Foligno (No. 28 overall, 2006) and Simmonds (No. 61, 2007) had played against each other since 2008-09. Foligno was in Ottawa then, Simmonds in Los Angeles.

Thirteen years later, they became teammates in Toronto when the Leafs acquired Foligno from Columbus. They got along right away.

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“We were laughing when I was in Toronto that we never fought,” Foligno said. “We had tons of run-ins. But just never dropped ’em. So sure enough, after playing with him …

“But he’s a great guy. Great teammate. Somebody I obviously respect a lot in the league.”

That they once shared the same crest did not matter when they squared off without gloves for the first time. Foligno knew that Simmonds (70 career bouts, per HockeyFights) was a tough opponent. Not only can Simmonds swing and connect, but he can also keep opponents on the outside because of his long reach.

Foligno figured he’d probably have to accept Simmonds’ punches early, determine his length and somehow breach his perimeter. Sure enough, Simmonds threw two rights first while locking out Foligno with his left arm.

Foligno was not worried. He was still in the fight.

“I don’t mind taking a few punches to kind of know how far I have to pull back or get inside to try and throw,” Foligno said. “If you know how to take them so they’re not going to hit you in the face, then you kind of gauge, ‘OK, how close do I need to get here to get my reach, get inside and try to throw some?’ You kind of wait it out, time his punches. I’ve just been doing it a while. It’s not like I’m a pro at it. But I’ve just done enough fights. You’ve fought guys tougher than you, bigger than you. You just figure it out, trial by error.”

After the initial stage of the fight, Simmonds switched to his left hand. He knocked Foligno’s helmet loose.

But Foligno recovered by holding out Simmonds with his right arm. This let him fix his helmet. Both fighters went back to their rights as their momentum took them toward the boards. At all times, Foligno maintained defensive wariness, especially by keeping his face out of Simmonds’ throwing zone.

“People probably think it’s more chaos,” said Foligno. “But I’ve tried to be a little bit smart about how I fight. I don’t need to just go in there and start throwing. That’s how you get hurt.”

Proper respect

Briefly, it looked like linesmen Jesse Marquis and Killian McNamara were ready to separate the pair. Foligno and Simmonds were nearing empty on their tanks. But with a last lunge, Foligno pushed Simmonds into the boards. Simmonds spun Foligno around. 

As they grappled along the glass, Foligno got a grip on Simmonds’ jersey and pulled it over his head, which knocked off his helmet. Marquis and McNamara stepped in. The fight was over.

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“I thought it was great,” Simmonds told TSN. “We both were smiling ear to ear. It’s a guy I have tremendous respect for. He’s been in this league a long time. Very tough player. He’s a very honest player at the same time. Just tried to get the juices going.”

As they exchanged compliments, Foligno tapped Simmonds on the back of his head. Simmonds responded with three taps on the top of Foligno’s helmet. They skated to their penalty boxes.

“Maybe I’m old school, but I think that’s the beauty of the sport,” said Foligno. “There’s a respect factor, knowing how hard a guy plays and what you’re trying to do for your team. I like to think of myself as an honest player. Wayne is as well. When you play that way, usually there’s mutual respect. ‘Hey, we did our job. We got the crowd going, got our teams going. Now it’s back to work.’ To me, that’s the way fighting should be. At the end of the day, yeah, I’m trying to punch his lights out. I’m sure he’s trying to punch my lights out. But when it’s all over, it’s over.”

(Top photo of Nick Foligno and Wayne Simmonds: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)

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