Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin received a match penalty for intent to injure after sucker-punching Tampa Bay Lightning winger Mathieu Joseph in the second period.
The altercation began when Joseph hit Larkin into the boards from behind. The Red Wings captain responded by punching Joseph as he skated away. The Bolts youngster was slow to get up afterward.
Some extracurricular activities ensued, with Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta getting involved. Both Rutta and Joseph received two minutes for roughing.
Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi ended up completing his hat trick on the four-on-three power play that followed the kerfuffle. Lightning head coach John Cooper expressed his displeasure with the situation postgame.
"Say what you want about the Joseph hit (on Larkin), there was no penalty called. At all. And then the melee starts and there's the attempt to injure. For us to come out of that four-on-three is mindboggling to me," he said. "I just don't know how that got rewarded, but it did."
Cooper also noted that the Lightning "hope" Joseph is OK.
Tampa Bay won the high-scoring contest 7-6 in overtime after overcoming several deficits.