“The big cat” “Didn’t land single punch”: NHL fans react as Alex DeBrincat throws down with Andrew Peeke despite massive height difference

NHL fans shared their reactions to the brawl between Detroit Red Wings's Alex DeBrincat and Boston Bruins’s Andrew Peeke in Saturday’s game. DeBrincat was slammed against the boards by Peeke as he looked to gather the puck in the first period of the game.

The diminutive player rose and charged straight at the considerably heavier and taller Bruins player, leaving him no choice but to drop gloves.

DeBrincat used his lack of height to agilely duck beneath most of Peeke’s swings while landing a few hard hits and wrestling the Bruins defenseman to the ice. The two were sent to their respective penalty boxes to cool off for five minutes after being separated by referees.

Hockey podcast Spittin Chiclets posted a video of the fight on X (formerly Twitter).

“Alex DeBrincat throws down with Andrew Peeke despite the 7” height difference between the two 🥊,” the post caption read.

Hockey fans were incredibly amused by the 5-foot-8 Alex DeBrincat’s win in the skirmish.

"The Big Cat," a user said.

"Didn’t land a single punch," another reacted.

"DeBrincat is one hell of a fighter. I’m a lot bigger than him and wouldn’t touch him 😂," a fan stated.

"Gotta give him props for taking down the mountain," another fan said.

"Took him down which is badass but didn’t really land any punches," yet another fan opined.

"Detroit can’t win in March but they can fight, respect," one user said.

"big man got beat by 5'8 red wing love it go wings," a Detroit fan said.

"Damn, you just lost to the shortest dude in the league...." Another user reacted.

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Alex DeBrincat-Andrew Peeke fight was followed by another brawl

With barely a minute added to the clock after DeBrincat and Peeke's tussle, Red Wings forward Austin Watson launched into a duel with the Boston Bruins's Jakub Lauko. This time, the bigger man won as the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Watson threw most of the punches, barely letting the 6-foot-1, 194-pound Lauko swing. The Bruins player also lost his helmet in the fight.

The second fight ended with Austin Watson wrestling Jakub Lauko to the ice and pinning him before the officials broke it up. Both players were sent to the penalty box with five-minute penalties for fighting. Watson was assessed a further 10-minute misconduct penalty.

The Red Wings held off the Bruins 2-1 on the night, with their goalie - Cam Talbot - making 20 saves. Both teams have been in poor form recently, with Detroit having lost four of their past five games and Boston's skid increasing to eight games.