The Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes seemed to briefly forget they were playing a hockey game on Wednesday ... 'cause they were using their fists more than their sticks at the Lenovo Center!!
There were three fights in the third period of the contest ... with the final brawl in the trilogy -- which involved Washington center Connor McMichael and Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield -- taking the violence to another level.
It grew intense early as both players' helmets came off in the scrap – but Chatfield wasn't content with just throwing punches.