AJ Greer lands heavy blows on Corey Perry in spirited fight – Source: Getty

Things got heated early in the Edmonton Oilers vs Florida Panthers game on Thursday night. Just less than three minutes into the first period, Edmonton’s Corey Perry and Florida’s AJ Greer dropped the gloves for a spirited fight along the boards.

Greer wasted no time landing some heavy blows on Perry’s head. The Florida forward was able to get inside on Perry and land big rights before Perry could react. Perry tried to tie up Greer and land a couple counterpunches, but Greer kept firing away with his right hand.

Watch the video here:

After about 30 seconds of fighting, the linesmen moved in to break it up. Both Greer and Perry were assessed five-minute major penalties for fighting on the play.

Later, Florida’s Anton Lundell set up Uvis Balinskis for a goal to open the scoring. Edmonton answered back with a goal from Brett Kulak to tie it 1-1 in the first period.

In the second period, Anton Lundell put the Panthers in the lead 2-1 with Asaron Ekblad’s assist. But a couple of minutes later, Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers with John Klingberg’s assist to tie it at 2-2.

Fans react to the AJ Greer-Corey Perry fight

The spirited fight between AJ Greer and Perry lit up social media on Thursday night. Hockey fans were buzzing about the brief but action-packed tilt between the Oilers and Panthers forwards.

On Twitter, fans praised the old-school nature of the scrap.

One fan wrote,

“Corey Perry is the toughest guy on the oilers and it’s not even close”

Another fan wrote,

“Gloves are flying tonight !!! How can you not love hockey.”

Here are some fan reactions:

“Corey Perry drops the gloves with AJ Greer and fights him to a standstill!! Maybe that’s what the Oilers need to wake them up!! Good scrap!!” one fan wrote.”Corey Perry vs AJ Greer. Credit to Perry for going with Greer, Greer’s an animal this season. What a start to Thursday night hockey.” another fan wrote.

I think Greer hurt his hand on Perry’s helmet on that first blow. His hand was free but seemed relunctant to keep throwing.” a user commented.”What happened to Perry dude acts like he’s 65 and can’t fight anymore” another user wrote.

The spirited tilt between the veteran Perry and young Greer gave fans an entertaining, physical showdown early in the contest.