It's December, but with the atmosphere and intensity of Thursday's game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, it might as well be May.
The Penguins got on the scoreboard first, but the Caps left their mark as they trail 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Craig Adams put Pittsburgh up 1-0 at 5:21 as the Penguins took advantage of bad positioning by Dmitry Orlov. Arron Asham was able to sneak a pass across the crease to a waiting Adams, who just pushed the puck past Tomas Vokoun for his second goal of the season.
On the ensuing faceoff, Asham and John Erskine squared off as the latter sought revenge on the former, who knocked out Jay Beagle in a fight when the two teams last met in October. Erskine and Asham both connected with several punches, but Erskine ultimately knocked Asham to the ice.
Speaking of knocking to the ice, Washington hit everything with a pulse. Despite being outshot 13-4, the Caps have a 19-7 advantage in hits. Alex Ovechkin leads the team with five.