You probably had not heard of Connor Clifton before his emergency recall to the National Hockey League.
There’s definitely no way Dallas Stars forward Jason Spezza had heard of him. The 23-year-old P-Bruins recall introduced himself to Spezza, though, by way of a few punches to the dome in a spirited bout Friday night in Dallas.
“He wanted it more than me,” Clifton said of the scrap with Spezza. “But it is what it is.”
The fight was the main event of what was an obviously busy night for the 5-foot-11 defender, who finished his NHL debut with four hits, one blocked shot, and nine minutes in penalties in a 18:53 night spent primarily on the B’s second pairing.
Clifton will remain in the Boston lineup Saturday night when the B’s go head-to-head with the Arizona Coyotes.