The San Jose Sharks defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Monday, 4-1. However, the final score is an afterthought from a game that featured both teams' goaltenders dropping the gloves and fighting. 

Yeah, that's right. There is a national championship college football game in Miami, but there was also a goalie fight approximately 30 miles away at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

The Sharks' Alex Nedeljkovic and Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky threw hands at the 14-minute mark of the third period. The confrontation was the culmination of a melee that began when Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues hit Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais hard behind the net. 

Desharnais was playing in his first game since November, missing time due to an elbow injury that required surgery. So his teammates may have been particularly uneasy about him taking a big hit. Especially one that appeared to come after the play was whistled dead. Demonstrating that heightened concern, Nedeljkovic quickly responded by shoving Rodrigues. 

As several players tussled at the boards, Bobrovsky skated from his side of the ice, dropped his gloves and zeroed in on Nedeljkovic. 

For a player who had never gotten into a fight during his 16-year NHL career, Bobrovsky didn't hesitate to take on Nedeljkovic. This was also the first NHL fight for the Sharks goaltender, but he had previously tussled with fellow goalie Ryan Massa when he played in the ECHL, according to The Athletic (via HockeyFights.com).

Did Nedeljkovic win the fight? If the outcome was determined by Bobrovsky falling to the ice first, then yes. But neither player appeared to land a solid or decisive punch. The Sharks players tapped their sticks on the ice and boards to show support for their teammate, however. Meanwhile, Panthers fans supported Bobrovsky by chanting, "Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!"

Bobrovsky versus Nedeljkovic was also the first fight between goalies in an NHL game since 2020, according to SportsNet.

Neither goaltender was ejected from the game, though both were issued five-minute penalties for fighting and two-minute penalties for leaving their respective creases. Altogether, 16 penalty minutes were assessed for the fight, including two minutes to Desharnais for tripping. 

The Panthers (25-20-3) have lost six of their past 10 games, dropping to seventh place in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference. The Sharks (also 25-20-3) are third in the Pacific Division and hold the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.