The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals, 5-1, on Wednesday night in a game in which Capitals star Alex Ovechkin inched closer to breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with his 892nd career goal.
Ovechkin and the Capitals walked away with the bitter loss in the end, but one player on the team could have come away with so much worse.
During one fight in the third period, Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield and Capitals center Connor McMichael dropped their gloves and went at it. The two exchanged punches before Chatfield pulled off a dangerous maneuver which ended up in him slamming a helmet-less McMichael to the ice.
Take a look:
Watch until the end.
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) April 3, 2025
Dirty play? Or just part of the game? pic.twitter.com/0kekBXVCiv
Went to a hockey game and a UFC match broke out pic.twitter.com/bFaH7qV3JC
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 3, 2025
A classless finishing move.
Chatfield seemed to get away with his dirty takedown as the refs only gave him and McMichael fighting majors and game misconducts. The Hurricanes and Capitals combined for 142 total penalty minutes—including 122 minutes in the third period alone—so it's fair to say emotions were at an all-time high late in the game. Still, that's no excuse for what could have been a very dire situation.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Carolina Hurricanes Player Got Away With Dirty UFC-Style Move During Fight.
