Nick Cousins Answers the Bell for Preseason Slash, Settling Score with Canadiens

Ottawa Senators winger Nick Cousins engaged in a fight with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble on Saturday, taking a punch that removed him from the game. The altercation was a direct response to Cousins' nasty slash on Ivan Demidov during a preseason game on September 30th, an act for which Cousins was fined by the NHL. Cousins, who appeared fine at Monday's practice, acknowledged the fight was necessary, stating, 'Sometimes you gotta answer the bell for your actions,' and expressed relief that Demidov was okay. While the fight appears to have settled the matter, the article delves into the NHL's 'frontier justice' system, suggesting Cousins' initial slash might have been retaliation for an earlier incident involving Senators' first-rounder Carter Yakemchuk.