By most accounts, Thursday's game between Montreal and Nashville - a 3-2 win by the Canadiens - didn't feature too many highlight reel-worthy visuals. There was, however, one interesting sight that stood out - a first period fight between Canadiens winger Steve Begin and Predators forward Jordin Tootoo.
As the two dropped their gloves and positioned themselves for the bout, Tootoo asked Begin if he wanted to take his helmet off. Begin shrugged his shoulders, seemingly indicating it wasn't necessary and the two went at it - helmets in place.
Over in St. Paul, Minnesota, Wild fans were not only treated to a 5-1 victory by the hometown team over Edmonton, but also a fight between crowd favourite James Sheppard and Oilers defenceman Ladislav Smid. Both players - who weren't known fighters to begin with - removed their helmets without hesitation before locking up.
Later in the evening, a very different scenario unfolded in Vancouver when Phoenix Coyotes winger Daniel Carcillo fought Canucks defenceman Rob Davison. Both players' helmets flew off their heads almost immediately after the fight began - and Carcillo ended up hitting his head on the ice.
That's three fights, with three very different approaches to helmets in just a matter of hours.
The timing of these incidents coincides with an intense debate that has been waged recently about the proper use of helmets during hockey fights.
The hockey community is still shaken by the tragic death of Whitby Dunlops player Don Sanderson, who died in January after hitting his head on the ice during a fight. The incident prompted the Ontario Hockey League to introduce a new rule this week (a rule that the Western Hockey League is seriously considering) that gives automatic one-game suspensions to players if their helmets come off during a fight.
On top of that, NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly said very recently that the Players' Assosication wants the Competition Committee to address player safety issues related to fighting, helmets and chinstraps.
Sanderson's father believes his son's death was more a result of his helmet coming off, rather than the fact he was involved in a fight.
"My son didn't die as the result of a fight, he died because his head hit the ice. There's a big difference," said Mike Sanderson. "It's a helmet issue."
He welcomes the recent rule changes that state players must keep their helmets on during altercations.
"Some say the boys are going to fight and hurt their fists now. Well, I wish my son had a broken fist," Sanderson added.
It's worth noting that first-half statistics for this NHL season show that fighting is up 70 percent since the first post-lockout season in 2005-06 – back to pre-lockout levels.
"It's something that is going to be discussed and it's not going to be a knee jerk reaction for anyone," said Ottawa Senators centre Jason Spezza, who is a member of the competition committee. "It's something that we are seriously looking into and the players are concerned about. But you don't want to make a drastic change because of something tragic."
With fighting on the rise and concerns about the players' safety growing, what should the National Hockey League do to address the issue of helmets and fights going forward? Should they enforce a rule similar to the one the OHL implemented? Should they regulate the way a player should wear a helmet?
''It's tough (to regulate) because mine was on before the fight and it came off,'' Carcillo said of his tilt with Davison. ''It's going to happen but for the most part, it should stay on with how big guys are today and with the chance of hitting your head on the ice.''
Carcillo went on to say that he would not keep his helmet on in a fight if a challenger voluntarily asked him to take it off.
"I'd take it off,'' Carcillo said. ''It's just respect. I don't see it as that big of a deal. When I go into a fight I don't think I'm going to hit my head. I think (Thursday night) was the first time I ever hit my head.''
There's certainly a wide spectrum of opinion among players. Most of them remove their helmets voluntarily during fights not only to avoid hurting their hands, but also to adhere to the code of doing it in the first place. At the other end, there are players who will choose to keep their helmets on during a tilt.
''That's tough to do,'' Coyotes head coach Wayne Gretzky said when asked if players should still be able to voluntarily take their helmet off. ''My old helmet I could get off pretty quickly,'' he joked. ''It's something we'll debate forever and fighting is always going to be a part of the National Hockey League. It's not going to go away.''
He did suggested some ideas on how the league could avoid an ugly incident stemming from a fight.
''If you throw a guy down (in a fight), it should be an extra penalty,'' said Gretzky. ''If you try to trip a guy during a fight, it should be an extra penalty. If its worse, than it should be reviewed by (NHL disciplinarian) Colin Campbell. That way it will make two guys stand up and actually fight.''
Players seem to be in favour of changes to make fighting safer but feel that the tradition of the game has to remain in tact.
"You want to try and make the game as safe as possible without altering the rules of the games and ruining the tradition of the game," Spezza explained to TSN. "And that's our biggest challenge when you are trying to come up with different stuff - keeping the tradition and period of the game and keeping it safe."
So what are your thoughts on how the NHL should handle helmets and fighting? Let the hockey world know on the Your Call feature below.