Senators’ Erik Karlsson applauds Sergei Gonchar’s first fight in 13 years

There were some strange dance partners in Saturday night's tilt between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Luke Schenn fought Nick Foligno. Mikhail Grabovski threw down with Chris Neil. But, in far and away the most unlikely bout of the night, Clarke MacArthur dropped the gloves with Sergei Gonchar:

There wasn't much to the fight, which is likely why CBC could hardly find it in the replays, but what it lacked in entertainment value it more than made up for in novelty. The fight was only the second of 37-year-old Gonchar's career, the first coming in 1998-99, when he was still a member of the Washington Capitals.

He fought Guy Carbonneau.

Among those entertained by the rare spectacle: Erik Karlsson, who applauded his teammate after Gonchar had served the five-minute major and returned to the bench:

I love Gonchar's disbelieving chuckle in the penalty box. He seems surprised as anyone.

Now, if you prefer your novelty fights videos to feature actual landed punches, take a look at Mikhail Grabovski's fight video with Chris Neil.

(No, there aren't any in that fight either, but the clip features Nick Foligno's scrap with Schenn as an undercard, and that one has punches):

Someone must have put truculence in the drinking water at Scotiabank Place. Either that or it was a St. Patrick's Day on a Saturday night, so everyone was in the mood for fighting.

The bizarre fight combos benefited the Leafs more than the Senators. Ottawa would go on to lose the game 3-1, allowing the Boston Bruins to finish the night back atop the Northeast Division.

Follow Harrison Mooney on Twitter at @HarrisonMooney