The game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Pittsburgh Penguins was hard-hitting and close for most of two periods, and the only penalty called was to Bryan Rust of the Penguins for a boarding penalty on Brett Pesce. It was starting to get a bit chippy by the midpoint of the second, with shoving matches and face-washed becoming a regular occurrence after whistles.
It came to a head between Jordan Staal and Rust when Staal tried to exit the Pens zone and gave Rust a quick little cross-check push to get him out of the way.