Avalanche, Kings players fight in first game of NHL season

It didn’t take long for NHL players to drop the gloves on the first night of the 2025-26 season.

Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings players got into a scrap with 1:34 left in the first period on Tuesday night. Kings forward Warren Foegele took a huge hit from Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson near the benches. Foegele gingerly skated back to his teammates.

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Colorado Avalanche players celebrate a goal by center Martin Necas (88) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Seconds later, Kings winger Jeff Malott stepped up and started to fight Manson. Malott may have been the perfect guy to challenge Manson since his brother, Mike, is a fighter and coach in the UFC.

Malott and Manson battled for a few seconds before eventually hitting the ice. Officials broke up the fisticuffs soon after.

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Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele (37) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) battle along the boards during the second period at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 7, 2025. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)

Los Angeles and Colorado were scoreless in the first period, but it was the Avalanche who picked up the victory in the end. Martin Necas scored two goals and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists.

“I thought by the time [the] last seven or eight minutes of the first period, by the time we got there we started to play a little bit more assertive,” Avalanche head coach David Bednar told reporters after the game, via NHL.com. “[We] continued that in the second period and got better.”

Jeff Malott #39 of the Los Angeles Kings skates against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 7, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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Kevin Fiala was the lone goal-scorer for the Kings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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