It might only go down on the stat sheet as a pair of roughing penalties, but that wouldn’t be an accurate enough description of the one-sided affair between Brenden Dillon and Evgeni Malkin on Sunday afternoon. That was a fight and Dillon came out on top.
Playing in just his third game with Washington since being acquired from the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, defenseman Brenden Dillon took part in the highly contentious Capitals/Penguins rivalry for the first time. A player known for his toughness on the ice and reputation of sticking up for his teammates, Dillon didn’t take long to endear himself to fans by adding fuel to the longstanding bad blood between the two franchises.
That's one way to win the hearts of Caps fans, Dillon pic.twitter.com/hxj6vIWnRL
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) February 23, 2020
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin shoved the Capitals’ Nic Dowd just after the buzzer sounded to mark the end of the first period. Dillon was quick to jump forward in support of his new teammate, pushing Malkin up against the glass and proceeding to get several headshots in before referees were able to peel him away.
The home crowd roared in support of the newly acquired defenseman, who’s already well on his way to becoming a fan favorite.
a tremendous boy! a boy i could get into!!!! pic.twitter.com/4NCz5J5xin
— Rave Sashayed (@_sashayed) February 23, 2020
Dillon clearly already has this “We hate the Penguins” thing down. If today’s action is any indication, his Capitals tenure is going to be a lot of fun for the D.C. faithful.
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