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Tom Kostopoulos didn’t plan on fighting St. John’s forward Michael McCarron during Friday’s 4-1 win.
But when he and the 6-foot-6 rookie forward had both dropped their gloves during a scrum late in the second period, Kostopoulos figured he might as well go.
“I was just looking not to get killed,” he said. “He was a pretty tall guy. I don’t think I came close to him. I think he took it easy on me.”
It wasn’t the first time in his career that Kostopoulos has fought someone much bigger, and McCarron wasn’t even his tallest opponent. That would be Zdeno Chara, who Kostopoulos dropped the gloves with in 2009.
But Friday’s fight sent a surge of momentum through his teammates and sparked a run of four goals that continued through the third period. The first goal occurred on a power play right after McCarron was assessed an extra roughing minor during the fight sequence.
Kostopoulos, who was given a fighting major, was in the locker room for the last minute of the period when Dominik Simon scored with the man advantage. That made the fight with McCarron worth it even more.
“It was nice. A big goal for our power play,” Kostopoulos said. “I don’t know if the fight had anything to do with it, but it was nice to get that one in.”
NOTES
– Head coach Mike Sullivan said injured winger Tom Sestito was scheduled to skate on his own after Saturday’s practice and, as he progresses, will begin doing individual drills. “After that he’ll join the team. He’s getting closer,” he said.
– When Ty Loney was sent to Wheeling on Thursday, Sullivan said it was another tough decision based on depth and the need to get the rookie winger some game action.
“It’s important that he keeps playing games. That’s a discussion we have all the time when we’re deciding on what’s best for a player’s overall development,” Sullivan said. “From my experience it’s a combination of practice time and games. It’s hard to develop at the optimum rate in the absence of one or the other.”
Sullivan indicated that Loney will be back with the Penguins at some point this season and his brief stint – two games with two assists, left an impression.
“He’s a smart player with good hockey sense. He comes to the rink with enthusiasm every day,” Sullivan said. He’s a young player trying to earn his way on the team. He’s in the process of doing that.”
– Kostopoulos said the Penguins’ current eight-game win streak has been full of variety. “The wins haven’t all gone the same way. Each game has been a different story,” he said. “The one thing that’s been common is it’s taken every guy in our lineup to win. Whether we’ve come out hot or been down and had to come back late, every guy has stepped up.”