Brady Tkachuk and Anders Lee drop the gloves off the opening face-off.

The two captains set the tone very early in this one.

The New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators clashed in a Saturday early game that has a ton of playoff implications and it was obvious from the first puck drop that both teams had come prepared to lay everything on the line.

It was Islanders captain Anders Lee and Senators captain Brady Tkachuk who would lead by example when, off of the opening draw, both men dropped their gloves and squared off for what was a spirited scrap.

Tkachuk would pop Lee's helmet off early with a stiff jab to the jaw and Tkachuk would continue to use his size and power to his advantage from there to get the edge over Lee. At one point Tkachuk had Lee completely wrapped up, leaving the Islanders captain in a very vulnerable position, and the on-ice officials wisely stepped in to seperate the two men before Tkachuk could do some real damage.

Here is a look at the replay:

Here it is again from the overhead angle:

Something tells me there is plenty more rough stuff ahead between these two teams today.