I want to hit a lighter note on Friday with one of the most popular features at Behind the Net: our semi-annual summary of the best fights in the league (since the lockout) as voted by the users of hockeyfights.com.
Normally, I'd pick the top 25 fights, but several fights are tied with an 8.2 rating, so I had to go with 29. The full list:
| Date | Fighters/Outcome | Rating | Link | |
| Dec 31, 2009 | Rick Rypien d. Cam Janssen | 9.2 | link | |
| Nov 26, 2008 | Draw: Daniel Carcillo and Derek Dorsett | 9.2 | link | |
| Nov 2, 2005 |
|
9.2 | link | |
| Oct 27, 2007 |
|
9.1 | link | |
| Jan 15, 2008 | Draw: Krys Barch and Brad May | 9.0 | link | |
| Oct 14, 2008 | Eric Godard d. Riley Cote | 8.9 | link | |
| Jan 3, 2008 | Jarkko Ruutu d. Darcy Tucker | 8.9 | link | |
| Jan 19, 2006 | Brian McGrattan d. Todd Fedoruk | 8.9 | link | |
| Oct 30, 2008 | Colton Orr d. Eric Boulton | 8.8 | link | |
| Nov 25, 2007 | D.J. King d. Eric Godard | 8.8 | link | |
| Dec 7, 2006 | Jim Vandermeer d. Josh Gratton | 8.7 | link | |
| Mar 3, 2009 | Draw: Aaron Downey and Cam Janssen | 8.5 | link | |
| Oct 24, 2009 | Brian McGrattan d. Steve MacIntyre | 8.4 | link | |
| Jan 10, 2009 | Craig Weller d. Jared Boll | 8.4 | link | |
| Nov 15, 2007 | Colton Orr d. Riley Cote | 8.4 | link | |
| Nov 8, 2007 | Arron Asham d. Riley Cote | 8.4 | link | |
| Jan 6, 2007 | Jordin Tootoo d. Jamal Mayers | 8.4 | link | |
| Mar 23, 2006 | Mark Bell d. Josh Gratton | 8.4 | link | |
| Jan 16, 2006 | Derek Boogaard d. Brian McGrattan | 8.4 | link | |
| Oct 7, 2005 | Draw: Jim Vandermeer and Ryane Clowe | 8.4 | link | |
| Mar 19, 2009 | Brad Staubitz d. Jordin Tootoo | 8.3 | link | |
| Dec 22, 2008 | Jason Strudwick d. Daniel Carcillo | 8.3 | link | |
| Nov 22, 2008 | Donald Brashear d. Jody Shelley | 8.3 | link | |
| Oct 13, 2007 | Brian McGrattan d. Colton Orr | 8.3 | link | |
| Feb 3, 2007 | Travis Moen d. Shea Weber | 8.3 | link | |
| Dec 28, 2005 | Todd Fedoruk d. Jody Shelley | 8.3 | link | |
| Oct 15, 2005 | Donald Brashear d. Eric Godard | 8.3 | link | |
| Nov 6, 2005 | Derek Boogaard d. Trevor Gillies | 8.3 | link | |
| Oct 13, 2005 | Eric Cairns d. Colton Orr | 8.3 | link |
Rick Rypien's most recent fault vaulted to the top of the list. Some of the picks are a bit idiosyncratic – hockeyfights.com users love Rypien, and they love to see Riley Cote get beaten up. But for the most part, the top fights are heavyweight bouts that go a full round – as usual, expect to spend an hour watching youtube if you start clicking on these links.
