Because your top guys have a strong probability of getting puck control off the draw, greatly outmatching the other team in skill and speed, generating scoring chances off the skill mismatch. When was the last time an enforcer fought(not Marchand sticking a Sedin) a teams star player? Ever notice that the superstars seem to only ever fight each other?
But yeah, getting into a pissing contest with the 3rd from last place team in the league, and squeezing out a shootout win, after getting steamrolled down south is smart hockey.
Whats impressive about Stocks career, (if we're going to just start throwing out stats) is the amount of PIMs he got in 2 seasons of the Q. Also the era of his junior and pro career, plus the area he played in wasn't conductive to(exclude QMJHL on this part) high scoring, wide open hockey
I wouldn't say it's so much them fighting the top line. For whatever McGratten's role is in the NHL, he has a reputation for being a standup and honest guy. I don't believe for a second he would try to fight them. Brute force body checks from 240lb enforcers are also what you don't need coming at the top line though. I don't think Torts had a choice, it's not worth the risk of further injuring an already battered team that's just starting to get healthy again. I think the sideshow between periods could have been done without, but there seems to be a bit of history there. I thought it was intersting that Bieksa pulled Westgarth away from the new kid so he didn't have to face an NHL heavyweight plug on his first shift. The hockey message boards seem to be full of Bieksa haters for not fighting him, I never understand why he takes so much abuse for choosing to generally stick to fighting guys in his own weight class. No need to have a skilled, tough 210lb player proving himself by fighting 240lb pylons. The new kid did pretty well in the end anyways. Sucks about all the misconducts though.