No one expects a game between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins not to be chippy. The first 20 minutes Wednesday were no exception.
A period filled with 33 hits yielded one goal as Jason Chimera's breakaway has the Caps leading the Penguins 1-0 after the first period.
The game was not even three minutes old when Matt Hendricks and Craig Adams dropped the gloves. Hendricks got the best of Adams on the exchange, taking him down to the ice. The tone was then set for a physical period that featured several big hits and scrums around the net.
Chimera broke through for the game's only goal so far at 15:25. Evgeni Malkin brought the puck into Pittsburgh's offensive zone, but was surrounded by four Washington players. Joel Ward poked the puck away from Malkin and towards Jeff Halpern, who raced down the boards. Halpern fed a cutting Chimera, who was all alone in the slot and beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a wrist shot for his 14th goal of the season.
Despite losing, the Penguins have a 9-6 shot advantage.