Pittsburgh Penguins veteran back-up goalie Brent Johnson was less than 20 seconds away from his second shutout of the season but he opted for registering a knockdown in a goalie fight instead.

As the game against the New York Islanders was winding down with a 3-0 score Penguins pest Matt Cooke, who is known for instigating, took a run toward Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro.

Cooke, who last season got knocked out cold in one punch by Thrashers Evander Kane (VIDEO HERE), was surrounded by a group of New York players and a scruff broke out in the corner.

As the players were exchanging pleasantries against the boards, Johnson dropped his gear and sprinted at DiPietro, squaring off and throwing a solid left that dropped the opposing goalie.

By the way, that was Johnson’s first goalie fight of his career and it came at the expense of earning a shutout since he was booted out of the game.

Here’s the one-punch fight here.

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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