By Steve Farnham, Associate Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

GREENFIELD PARK, QC. — How many times have fans of the Montreal Canadiens heard that Alexei Emelin will never drop his gloves, he who had his face reconstructed following a fight that left his face all busted up back in the KHL. A blow to the plate in his face could result in a very serious injury.

On Sunday night, against none other than the Boston Bruins, and against the biggest baddest player in the NHL today, Emelin did drop his gloves and it was against Zdeno Chara. Nightmarish scenario if you care for the life of Emelin.

This all started with less than five minutes to play in the second period, when Alexei Emelin left his defensive position to cross-check Tyler Seguin who was cutting across the Montreal Canadiens blue line. Seguin went down like a sac of potatoes and it didn’t take long for Chara to rush Emelin and and whip him around like a rag doll.

Rest assured, Emelin was okay, served his five minute major and returned to the game afterwards. Chara was assessed a two-minute instigator penalty, five minutes for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.