Throwback: All hell breaks loose between the Capitals and the Penguins in the playoffs!

When modern fans of the National Hockey League think about the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, the first two names that are most likely to pop into their heads are going to be Sidney Crosby, captain of the Penguins, and Alex Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals. The two men have often faced one another in the playoffs, they have been compared to one another for their entire careers, and they have both captained their teams to championship glory, but there was a time before Crosby and Ovechkin when that rivalry was still in full swing. 

For this throwback we are going back all the way to 1996 during the Stanley Cup Playoffs where the Capitals faced off against the Penguins in what was an extremely heated matchup. We simply just don't see altercations like these in the NHL anymore and this one is definitely a memorable one. We have everything here from ejections to players throwing bombs both while standing and on the ground and even the goaltenders get involved and get a piece of the action. In fact Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig comes charging across the ice only to end up flat on his back after a collision near the National Hockey League's officiating crew, a crew that was struggling badly to regain control of the situation.

The second clip shows the replay of the fiasco and also gives us a clear view of one of the highlights of this incident, a moment staring former NHL defenseman and NHL head coach Jim Schoenfeld. The fiery Schoenfeld is seen arguing over the edge of the divider and although it is unclear what he is saying, it is clearly enough to get the official to give him the old boot from the game. Schoenfeld even gives us a little treat as he walks out of the arena, seemingly challenging the Penguins bench with his body language and likely with his words as well. Schoenfeld is no small man and looms tall on the ice even without the skate blades, I doubt there would have been many willing to take him up on his challenge that evening. 

Here's the first clip:

And now the one highlighting Schoenfeld's ejection: