That's Entertainment!

"That was like the 1980s or something. That was different," says Oilers' forward Ryan Smyth, smiling.
"Great entertainment," declares coach Craig MacTavish.
"Everybody leaves the building happy," adds Georges Laraque.

Hockey fans in Edmonton did indeed go home happy last night. They watched the Oilers give Atlanta a 5-1 whacking, and those who stuck around for the final minutes were brought to their feet by a "wild melee." (Even the language of hockey brawls sounds old-fashioned.)

Before it was over, Edmonton's Mike Bishai was throwing punches from the Atlanta bench and the goalies were trading haymakers at center ice.

"I just think they got frustrated," suggests Laraque of the Thrashers, who are winless in ten games.

"I kind of wanted to stay out of it and watch," says Oilers' goalie Ty Conklin. But he responded to a challenge from his Atlanta counterpart, Pasi Nurminen, putting on a show that will make all the year-end highlight reels.

The night took another bizarre twist when peace and order were restored. Nurminen and Conklin were thrown out of the game, leaving Atlanta fresh out of goalies. The starter, Byron Dafoe, had left with a groin injury after the first period. The Thrashers had to play the final 1:49 with six attackers, giving up one more goal.

"It looked like everybody was going so I didn't think that far," says Nurminen.

"It's always fun," he adds. "Just give couple punches, take couple punches. Still alive."

With any luck, one or two media gasbags will add to the fun with a pious condemnation of the brawl, moaning about hockey's lack of civility and railing against the base instincts of loutish fans. Too early to expect such a diatribe yet, because such high-minded folks do not spend their Wednesday nights watching the Oilers and Thrashers.