LOS ANGELES — Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard wasn’t thinking clearly.

Late in a 6-0 loss Tuesday night at San Jose, Brassard was driven into the end boards by Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle, who then barked at him to “get up,” a suggestion that Brassard was embellishing the hit.

What followed wasn’t pretty.

Brassard and Boyle dropped their gloves, and Boyle proceeded to whale away on Brassard as he buckled to his knees.

“If anybody thinks I was fighting because I expected to win the fight, no,” Brassard said. “I answer the bell. … I was frustrated. It was 6-0 and that’s how I responded.”

It was the most out-of-the-ordinary bout in a game that had five fights and a number of borderline hits.

The NHL ruled that a hit by Blue Jackets right wing Jared Boll only 20 seconds into the game went over the line. He was fined $2,500, the maximum allowed, for an elbow to the head of Sharks center Joe Thornton. Boll had two fights with San Jose’s Jim Vandermeer.

Winger Derek Dorsett and Fedor Tyutin also collected fighting majors.

Blue Jackets interim coach Todd Richards didn’t mind the fighting.

It’s fair to question the “care” level for many of the Blue Jackets after such a lopsided loss. With 32 games remaining this season, including last night at the Los Angeles Kings, Richards is looking for players who aren’t simply counting the days until golf season.

“I’m glad Derick stuck up for himself,” Richards said. “You like to see things from guys that are unfamiliar, maybe a little uncharacteristic. It takes a lot of courage to do that. It’s easy to duck out of it or stay away from it. You can see the commitment when guys are willing to do that.

“We can it see it in Jared Boll for doing what he had to do twice. If you don’t care, you just don’t do it. It’s pretty visible and pretty evident from certain players.”

There’s always a concern, though, when Brassard drops his gloves.

Brassard’s fight with Boyle was the third of his NHL career. His previous fight was merely a technicality. Brassard came to Tyutin’s defense after a hit from behind by Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke on Feb. 8, 2011. Although his gloves came off, no punches were thrown.

The fight before that, though, was devastating. Brassard, once again sticking up for Tyutin after a dirty hit, fought Dallas’ James Neal on Dec. 18, 2008, and suffered a separated shoulder before the fight got started.

Plenty of moves

Rookie forward Andrew Joudrey made his NHL debut last night, taking rookie Ryan Johansen’s spot in the lineup. “(Johansen) wasn’t feeling well,” Richards said. “But his play (Tuesday in San Jose) wasn’t where it needs to be.”

Brassard and winger R.J. Umberger were elevated to the No. 1 line with Rick Nash. Winger Vinny Prospal was dropped to the third line with Sammy Pahlsson and Dorsett.

Slap shots

Center Jeff Carter missed his 10th straight game because of a shoulder injury. … Defenseman Marc Methot (flu) missed his second straight game. He was sent ahead to Anaheim, site of Friday’s game, to rest and keep him away from the club. … A game Feb. 18 against Chicago at Nationwide Arena has been switched to a 1 p.m. start. It previously was scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

aportzline@dispatch.com