Former Canadien Chris Nilan loved Josh Anderson's bench fight

Montreal Gazette

27-04-2025

Montreal Canadiens
Chris Nilan was in the stands at the Bell Centre for the Canadiens' 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Friday night.
Not surprisingly, the Canadiens' all-time leader in penalty minutes with 2,248 loved it when Josh Anderson and the Capitals' Tom Wilson got into a fight at the end of the second period and ended up in the Washington bench.
'Oh yeah, that looked fun,' Nilan said with a chuckle Sunday while getting ready to attend Game 4 Sunday night at the Bell Centre. (6:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports). 'The door opened and they ended up on the bench. That never would have happened if that wasn't the case. The whole Capitals team has to leave the bench and go on the ice to get to their dressing room ... so what do you expect the Canadiens players to do? Go to their room? So there's going to be a confrontation.
'I was in the stands and I could not sit down,' Nilan added. 'I was on edge, I was up and down with the fans. People were hugging me ... it was incredible. It was the most electric, passionate atmosphere I've ever been in at a sporting event. It really was. It was unbelievable. People have waited so long for these kids to come around and they finally have. Hopefully they keep it going.'
Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that the NHL told management of the Canadiens and Capitals to be more careful during warm-ups, TV timeouts and at the end of periods in Game 4 because the league didn't like what happened in Game 3.
The fight between Anderson and Miller brought back memories of the 'Brawl in the Hall' Nilan was involved in at Boston Garden on Nov. 20, 1986. Nilan received a fighting major and a game misconduct at 15:09 of the second period of a game the Canadiens would end up winning 3-1.
Nilan was being escorted off the ice by a linesman and had to go through a door beside the Bruins bench to get to the Canadiens' locker room. Ken Linseman stood up on the Bruins bench and was staring at Nilan.
'You had to stand up to it in there (at Boston Garden) or just put your tail between your legs and go home,' Nilan said.
'Listen, I'm an idiot if I trust Ken Linseman,' he added. 'He stood up on the bench, turned and was facing me. I was looking straight ahead and saw him out of the corner of my eye. I was like, I ain't waiting, and that's when I threw the punch and then all hell broke loose.'
A brawl ensued in the hallway leading to the locker rooms.
'I had him down in the hallway and was giving it to him and he was freaking scratching and clawing me,' Nilan said. 'He was trying to scratch my face and he did scratch me, the little rat.'
Nilan and Linseman have since become good friends and Nilan had him as a guest last year on his Raw Knuckles Podcast to talk about the Brawl in the Hall. Nilan even sells sweatshirts on his website with 'Brawl in the Hall — Knuckles vs. The Rat' written on the front, along with the date and location.
'He's a great guy ... he's a really good guy,' Nilan said about Linseman. 'He's been a successful businessman in life. He's a really sharp kid ... he's done well.'
Nilan loves what Anderson has brought to the Canadiens this season and during the playoffs after what was an off-season for him last year.
'I give Josh Anderson all the marks in the world for what he has done,' Nilan said. 'We saw what he did to the Rangers' Jacob Trouba this season ... he beat the doors off him.
'Here's what I'll say about Josh,' Nilan added. 'He's been an incredible leader. The previous year he had an off-year and I don't think people realize just how difficult it is for a veteran to be part of a rebuild and come every day thinking, I'm going to take everyone by storm, when you're losing all the time. It's not fun. So he had an off-year. But then he got his s--- together and he's bounced back big-time. He's been an awesome leader. That whole line with (Brendan) Gallagher and (Christian) Dvorak ... they've all stepped up in their leadership roles. Josh Anderson, I love him as a player — always have.'
Nilan also loves Arber Xhekaj and was very happy to see head coach Martin St. Louis put the 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenceman in the lineup for Game 3 after he was a healthy scratch for the first two games.
We already got Xhekaj and Tom Wilson throwing chirps during warmups pic.twitter.com/vLiV7NKkq8
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) April 25, 2025
'Listen, there was a lot of pressure on that kid,' Nilan said. 'They bring him in the lineup, they're down 2-0, and it's like: 'Don't make any mistakes.' I'm sure that's in his head. He wants to go play and he wants to bring some aggression and stand up to these guys and I thought he did a great job chirping them in pregame warm-up. He tried to get involved physically.
'Marty said Wilson ain't going to play any different with Xhekaj in the lineup ... I beg to differ,' Nilan added. 'Plus, Wilson wasn't the only one in the first two games ... everybody on the Capitals was taking shots at the Habs. Now, it's like screw you. With Arber in there guys know that their backs are covered. It's a big plus to have him in the lineup.
'I think they've kind of put Washington on notice.'