PHILADELPHIA -- An already testy rivalry boiled over in the first period of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
At the 12:02 mark of the period, two fights broke out between some of the biggest stars from each team.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who took two whacks at the glove of Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who was covering the puck in his crease, to start the fireworks. Flyers center Claude Giroux took exception to it that and he and Crosby began pushing and shoving behind the net.
When that appeared to be broken up, Crosby then pushed away the glove of forward Jakub Voracek as the Flyer forward tried to pick it up. Giroux caught up with Crosby and the pair dropped the gloves and squared off in a short fight. Further up the ice, Timonen and Penguins defenseman Kris Letang squared off in a short fight.
The end result was Timonen and Letang each being assessed major penalties for fighting as well as game misconducts. Crosby and Giroux each were penalized for fighting. Flyers forward Jakub Voracek and Penguins forward Steve Sullivan each were also sent off for roughing as part of the scrum.
Timonen also was given an extra slashing minor, giving the Penguins a power play.
Moments later, at 14:15, another scrum broke out after Flyers forward Brayden Schenn put a hard hit on Penguins defenseman Paul Martin. Pittsburgh forward Arron Asham responded by cross-checking Schenn in the face, and then punching him in the back of the head as Schenn laid on the ice.
Asham was given a match penalty after the hit, which includes an automatic ejection.
Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK