MONTREAL — Avalanche fans might look away in fear whenever Bo Byram drops the gloves, but he’s nowhere near as worried as everyone else.
The young defenseman has now engaged in two fights since returning from a lower-body injury in February. The latest was an uneventful bout with Michael Pezzetta during Colorado’s 8-4 win Monday over the Canadiens. Byram is not the Avs’ enforcer – in fact, he’s quickly developing into one of their most elite skill players, as evidenced by another moment in Montreal – making him an unusual fighting candidate.
Especially taking into account his history. He was hounded by concussions throughout the first two years of his NHL career, making the idea of a smack to the head more daunting. The guy who actually is Colorado’s enforcer ended up in concussion protocol last month, thanks to a knockout blow in a fight. Kurtis MacDermid still has a black eye.
Byram, however, is adamant.
“That’s behind me,” he said of his concussions. “I don’t even think about it anymore.”
The occasion in Montreal was a chippy third period that culminated with Byram and Pezzetta taking matching game misconduct penalties. Neither welterweight landed a clean punch in the fight, which turned out to be more of a wrestling bout to the great relief of the paranoid. Byram agreed that the Habs were probably looking for trouble with the game out of reach.
“It’s just kind of part of the game,” he said. “Not something I’m very good at. … I think our team does a good job of sticking up for one another, no matter who it is.”
Byram’s bout with Matt Boldy on Feb. 15 in Minnesota was more action-packed. Both contestants landed light blows before Byram lost his helmet and was taken down. If that was a definitive loss, Byram’s tie in Canada was technically improvement.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar concurred with Byram’s perspective on the potential risk factor.
“It doesn’t matter if it worries me or not. It’s just part of the game,” Bednar said. “And sometimes it happens. I don’t want our guys backing down and tiptoeing around because they’ve got hurt in the past, either. So I’m glad it doesn’t bother him, and he has the confidence to be able to do that if he has to.”
Byram might have been charged up with extra confidence after his dazzling first-period goal. The 11th of his career became an early candidate for the best. It was also a fresh reminder of the 21-year-old’s talent to accentuate any trepidation about seeing him fight.
Byram collected a bounce pass off the boards from Sam Girard and buzzed around defenseman Kaiden Guhle. Once Byram’s skating speed had allowed him to get behind Guhle, he used his left glove to fight off Guhle’s stick from poke-checking, like a football stiff-arm. Byram’s right hand stick-handled while the left was busy. But both hands helped him maneuver the puck around Jake Allen, baiting the goalie into lunging at the near post.
The far post was Byram’s.
“He’s kind of gotten back to the spot where he was last year in the playoffs for us,” Bednar said. “He was a dominant player in the playoffs, at the most important time of the year.”
Byram let out an emphatic shout as Nathan MacKinnon, visibly impressed, joined him in the celebration. After the game, Byram said his reaction wasn’t amplified because of the quality of the goal.
“Not even that,” he said. “I was just excited to score.”
That’s when Cale Makar interrupted. “He knew it was a highlight goal,” the defending Norris Trophy winner said. Byram tried to ignore and continue his answer. Makar kept chirping: “He felt like Bobby Orr.”
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