Freeze Frame: Pettersson shows 'ultimate loyalty' in fighting heavyweight

PHILADELPHIA -- Nicolas Deslauriers is one of the NHL's top heavyweight fighters at 6 feet 1 and a solid 220 pounds.

Marcus Pettersson is ... decidedly not that.

Pettersson's 6-3, but he's one of the lankier players on the Penguins at 177 pounds. He had just five career fights entering Friday's game.

But when Pettersson saw Deslauriers light up Kris Letang with a hard hit in the second period of the 4-1 win over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center, he didn't hesitate to drop the gloves and stand up for his teammate and defense partner.

It was a decision that earned Pettersson some serious respect from his teammates and coaches.

The hit from Deslauriers came behind the Penguins' net. Deslauriers opened his arms afterward seemingly accepting a challenge from any of the Penguins' skaters who may have wanted to respond, and it was Pettersson who stepped up. Deslauriers got the better end of the bout, but Pettersson absolutely held his own. The fight wasn't nearly as uneven as one may have anticipated given the disparity in size and fighting ability between the two players:

I spoke one-on-one with Pettersson after the Penguins' win and asked what was going through his head dropping the gloves against a guy like Deslauriers.

"Just survive," he said with a grin.

"He's really tough and really strong," Pettersson added of Deslauriers. "He got a couple of hard ones around my helmet, but I think I did pretty good. I stood on my feet."

Pettersson does have limited experience fighting. He had four in the 2018-19 season -- one with the Ducks, and then three more after he was traded to the Penguins that season. His last fight came in the 2019-20 season against the Canadiens' Max Domi.

Pettersson credited Erik Gudbranson with giving him some pointers when it comes to fighting during their time together with the Penguins, but he said it's difficult to put those tips to use in a real fight in a game.

"It's tough when it's live," Pettersson said. "He really knows how to position himself. I was just thinking that, if I could get a hold of his right shoulder, I'd have a good chance."

Mike Sullivan was impressed with Pettersson, to put it mildly.

"He's a competitive guy, he cares about his teammates," Sullivan said. "To stand up for Tanger in that circumstance, he fought a pretty tough kid on the other side. You just give him so much credit for that. It's hard to articulate it for me, he's just an unbelievable teammate."

Pettersson's teammates were all on their feet on the bench after the fight, applauding him with stick taps.

Pettersson smiled again when I asked about the reaction he got from the other players after the fight, saying that they "really took care of me" afterward, and that he was pleased to see the energy it gave the team.

Sullivan said that the fight gave the team a "huge boost."

"When a player like that shows that type of courage in that circumstance and puts himself in harm's way for the sake of his teammates, for me, it just shows the ultimate loyalty," Sullivan said. "I think our players, they understand that these guys are in the battle every night. They understand those circumstances. And I think it gave our team a huge boost."

Pettersson's teammates recognized Pettersson's courage by giving him the postgame MVP helmet after the win:

The Penguins don't have a Deslauriers-type on their roster. They don't have someone who is a typical enforcer, or someone with extensive fighting experience. But Pettersson's efforts Friday showed that anyone can step up and defend a teammate when needed.