Fights Fine With Hartsburg

Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg wasn’t much of a fighter as a defenseman with the Minnesota North Stars in the 1980s.

“Maybe two or three fights a year,” he said.

But you can count him among those who believe fights serve a purpose in today’s NHL. He believes it helps eliminate some of the stick work and other dirty play that might otherwise go unpunished.

“If you took fighting out of the game, a lot of guys would get nastier and braver,” Hartsburg said. “I don’t think we need that part of the game. It’s always in the back of players’ minds if they cross the line, they’re going to have to fight.”

And what of the future of fighting?

“Right now, in our game, it has its place,” he said. “I can see someplace down the road where it won’t be in the game, though.”

Tonight vs. Tampa Bay

7:30

Fox Sports West 2

* Site--Arrowhead Pond.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 2-3-1, Lightning 3-4-1.

* Record vs. Lightning--(1997-98) 2-0.

* Update: Tonight is the first game the Ducks will play under the NHL’s experiment with two referees. The Ducks had better not snooze through the first two periods tonight as they did in a 2-2 tie Sunday against the Phoenix Coyotes because the big joke apparently is over in Tampa. New Lightning owner Art Williams sacked General Manager Phil Esposito two games into the season and the team has finally looked respectable. The Lightning won three in a row and outscored opponents, 11-4, to close out a six-game homestand. Last season, Tampa Bay didn’t win its third game at home until Nov. 22, in its 22nd game of the season. That slow start only partially explained why the low-budget Lightning won 17 games last season. There still isn’t a wealth of talent in Tampa Bay, but keep an eye on promising rookie center Vincent Lecavalier, the top pick in last June’s draft.