245:. Afterward, with Cairns in the penalty box, Fleury mocked him by flapping his arms like a chicken to suggest that Cairns was afraid to fight McCarthy, who flexed his biceps and looked at Cairns. In the next game between the two teams, on December 21, Cairns and McCarthy fought at the beginning of the first period following an early Islanders goal. Cairns won the fight, and McCarthy said of him after the game, "I never said he wasn't a tough guy."
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Purinton came together, and as Cairns began to throw punches, Purinton elbowed Cairns in the face before
Purinton dropped to the ice and turtled. Cairns let Purinton get up and challenged him, but Purinton refused to fight. Barry Melrose criticized Purinton for declining the chance to fight Cairns in a fair match.
241:. In a game on November 8, 2001, McCarthy challenged Cairns to a fight; initially, Cairns declined, but he later chased McCarthy down the ice into the Islanders' zone. During this time, McCarthy scored on a rebound. As McCarthy celebrated, Cairns gave him a jab to the jaw, which led to a fight between Cairns and
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and then threw a punch at an official who was escorting him to the penalty box. Cairns skated around the rink for about a minute threatening the officials, unable to lose his teammates who were attempting to ensure he did not further escalate the incident. Instead of leaving the ice, Cairns instead
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In another incident on
February 19, 2004, Dale Purinton beat Cairns in a fight and punched him after he was down on the ice. The rest of the game included a number of fights. Cairns called Purinton "gutless." A week later, on February 26, the Islanders and Rangers again faced off. Cairns and
217:, received less playing time in his last year of play as the enforcer role became less prominent in the post-lockout NHL. Since entering the league in the 1996β1997 season with the Rangers, Cairns accumulated 1,117 penalty minutes, 10 goals, and 32 assists.
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skated to the
Coventry bench where he threw a punch which resulted in a bench-clearing brawl. He was suspended for the remainder of the season and the entire next season in all IIHF tournaments, although the NHL allowed him to return the following year.
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signed him as a free agent. Cairns was then traded to the
Penguins mid-season. He missed most of the 2006β2007 season with post-concussion syndrome and various other injuries.
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Cairns is currently the
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defenceman and current director of player development for the
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Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the
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Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
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182:. He began his second year of professional hockey with the
1635:"HOCKEY; Cairns Doesn't Back Down, and Neither Do Isles"
1594:. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. p. 148.
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Biographical information and career statistics from
1675:"NHLer Cairns suspended by U.K. league | CBC Sports"
290:. Amazingly, Cairns started with a goal against the
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150:(born June 27, 1974) is a Canadian former
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1743:Eric Cairns' Player bio @ Forecaster.ca
158:. His last season (2006) was with the
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1704:. Retrieved
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1758:1974 births
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227:Theo Fleury
213:Cairns, an
148:Eric Cairns
27:Eric Cairns
1752:Categories
1736:, or
1732:, or
1728:, or
1620:Daily News
1573:References
263:Wade Belak
152:ice hockey
95:Played for
38:1974-06-27
1684:April 17,
1659:March 21,
1655:. MSG.com
1097:1999β2000
1054:1999β2000
122:NHL draft
1405:2005β06
1010:1998β99
382:1990β91
325:Playoffs
215:enforcer
75:Position
54:, Canada
48:Oakville
1726:NHL.com
1706:May 22,
1492:2006β07
1449:2006β07
1361:2005β06
1314:2004β05
1271:2003β04
1228:2002β03
1185:2001β02
1142:2000β01
968:1998β99
923:1998β99
878:1997β98
835:1997β98
792:1996β97
745:1996β97
700:1995β96
657:1995β96
610:1994β95
563:1994β95
520:1993β94
475:1992β93
428:1991β92
339:League
194:of the
186:in the
178:by the
162:of the
79:Defence
52:Ontario
1598:
332:Season
67:Weight
59:Height
1551:1182
709:ECHL
336:Team
1708:2018
1686:2018
1661:2010
1596:ISBN
1539:457
1501:AHL
1456:NHL
1413:NHL
1370:NHL
1324:EIHL
1293:189
1278:NHL
1250:124
1235:NHL
1207:176
1192:NHL
1164:106
1149:NHL
1106:AHL
1076:196
1061:NHL
1018:AHL
975:AHL
932:NHL
887:AHL
842:NHL
799:AHL
771:147
679:192
664:AHL
636:134
573:ECHL
542:204
527:OHL
499:194
484:OHL
454:237
407:120
391:CJHL
377:PIM
374:Pts
237:and
206:the
188:ECHL
128:1992
90:Left
86:Shot
32:Born
1679:CBC
1566:28
1554:16
1548:42
1545:32
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1428:87
1416:27
1385:37
1373:23
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1033:91
1021:24
990:49
978:11
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902:43
857:92
845:39
814:96
802:10
759:40
755:NHL
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694:37
676:14
673:13
667:46
651:28
624:27
620:AHL
589:49
577:11
557:46
545:17
539:42
536:35
530:59
514:24
502:15
496:16
493:13
487:64
469:31
451:12
448:11
442:64
438:OHL
404:21
401:16
395:37
365:GP
361:PIM
356:Pts
342:GP
196:AHL
164:NHL
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36:(
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