As hard as it may be to believe, two men exchanged punches to the face out of mutual respect for one another.

Pittsburgh Penguins star center Evgeni Malkin was taken to task by Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler for a high and dangerous hit during the last meeting between the two clubs Wednesday night, and the former obliged because that's just what hockey players do.

Related: Malkin, Wheeler settle score by dropping gloves

"I knew it wasn't a great hit. I respect (Wheeler). I was ready", Malkin said, per Pens Inside Scoop. "It wasn't my greatest fight, couple punches. I lost. One fight is enough for me"

For his part, Wheeler said he had a lot of respect for Malkin answering the bell, adding, "It was good to get that out of the way."

That settles that, then.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Patric Hornqvist was a late scratch from Wednesday's game in Winnipeg, and Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan shed light on the injury following his team's 7-4 win.

The Penguins have four games remaining on a road trip that wraps up March 15 in Philadelphia.

Hornqvist has scored 17 goals and added 20 assists in 58 games so far this season. He last played Sunday in Buffalo, recording an assist and three shots during 15:28 of ice time.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Defenseman Fredrik Claesson scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to help the Ottawa Senators win their fourth straight game, 5-2 over the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night.

Ottawa moved within four points of first-place Montreal in the Atlantic Division. The Senators' winning streak began after they acquired Viktor Stalberg and Alexandre Burrows near the trade deadline.

Craig Anderson made 35 saves and tied the Ottawa franchise record with his 146th victory.

Stalberg and Cody Ceci also each had a goal and an assist for the Senators, and Mike Hoffman had two assists.

Chris Wideman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored against Dallas starting goalie Kari Lehtonen, who left at 3:21 of the second period after allowing three goals in 18 shots.

Antti Niemi replaced Lehtonen. Ottawa didn't have a shot on goal against Niemi for 14:48, until Stalberg scored on the power play for a 4-1 lead. Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza scored for Dallas.

The Senators scored first on the power play at 13:41 of the first period. Stalberg passed cross-ice to Wideman in the right faceoff circle, and he put a wrist shot into the right side of the net before Lehtonen could get back.

Ottawa took a 2-0 lead at 15:21 when Zack Smith won a faceoff back to Claesson high in the slot for a slap shot and his first goal in 36 career NHL games.

Pageau slid the puck from the slot through traffic and between Lehtonen's legs to knock the goalie from the game.

Seguin pulled Dallas back within two goals at 3-1. Spezza passed from behind the net to Seguin at the left, and he put the puck into a narrow opening inside the left post.

Stalberg deflected Dion Phaneuf's shot from the left post past Niemi.

Spezza scored on the power play in the third period with a shot that deflected off Mark Borowiecki's right leg.

Ceci's goal at 9:01 of the third went in off Niemi's skate.

NOTES: The Stars signed RW Adam Cracknell to a one-year contract extension for $675,000. In his seventh season, the first with Dallas, he has career highs of seven goals and 54 games played. . Ottawa C Kyle Turris missed his first game this season because of an injured finger. ... In Pageau's past four games against the Stars, he has six points (three goals, three assists). He won 10 of 11 faceoffs in the first two periods. ... Playing in his third NHL game, Dallas' Remi Elie had his first assist on Seguin's goal, and Ales Hemsky had his first point in only five games played in an injury-riddled season. ... Borowiecki, the league leader in penalty minutes, increased his total to 126 with a double minor for roughing in the first period. ... The Senators had two goals on three power plays, after going 2 for 16 in their past six games, and Dallas' penalty killers had been 14 for 16 in the previous six.

UP NEXT

Senators: Play the second of three road games in four nights on Friday at Arizona.

Stars: Begin a four-game trip on Sunday at San Jose.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Brad Marchand knows a thing or two about sneaking up on people.

But whereas in the past, the Boston Bruins winger was known primarily for his nettlesome ways, he now finds himself statistically among the NHL's elite.

Marchand scored twice in Wednesday's 6-1 drubbing of the Red Wings, giving him 32 goals and 70 points on the season, the most by a Bruin in quite some time.

The performance also put him within striking distance of the NHL lead in both goals and points.

Marchand now sits second in goals, level with Patrik Laine and two behind Sidney Crosby (34). On the total points front, only Connor McDavid (74) has recorded more, with Marchand on par with Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Patrick Kane.

The 70 points mark a career high, while Marchand has 15 games in which to match or top the 37 goals he scored last season.

The Bruins signed Marchand to an eight-year, $49-million contract extension in September, and if this is his new normal, that cap hit is set to become a bargain when it kicks in next season.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Evgeni Malkin is a superstar in his own right, but now he can be mentioned in the same breath as one of the greatest.

The Pittsburgh Penguins forward was all over the score sheet, recording a Gordie Howe hat trick - at least one goal, one assist, and one fight - against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night.

He scored twice, added a helper on a goal by Justin Schultz, and exacted some revenge on Jets forward Blake Wheeler in a staged bout, all within the first 31 minutes of the game.

Related: Malkin, Wheeler settle score by dropping gloves

His first goal came on a breakaway, and it gave him 30 goals on the season for the first time since 2011-12.

Malkin's 31st made it 5-3 for the Penguins at the 10:06 mark of the second period.

The Russian sniper is having his best season since his 50-goal, 109-point campaign five years ago. Injuries have limited him to 69 games or less in each of the last four seasons, but he's now played more in 2016-17 (58 contests) than he did in all of the 2015-16 regular season (57).

A healthy Malkin is a great thing for the NHL.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Despite a seven-hour time difference, Fredrik Claesson's dad didn't miss an important moment in his son's career.

The Ottawa Senators defenseman scored his first career goal during Wednesday's game in Dallas, and his dad responded to a tweet to verify he indeed witnessed the moment all the way over in Sweden.

Here's a look at the goal:

Claesson, who was born in Stockholm, had recorded seven assists in 35 games with the Senators prior to finding the back of the net.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Shane Doan empathizes with Arizona Coyotes fans.

As the team's longest-serving player and all-time leading scorer, the captain has devoted his career to making hockey work in Arizona. In light of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's letter that urged state legislators to release public funds for a new arena in the Phoenix area - citing unsustainability with the Coyotes' current home - the captain expressed what many must be thinking in and around the team.

"I truly don’t even know what to say in the fact that we make it hard to be a Coyotes fan at times, and we sure appreciate the fans that stick with us because it’s difficult and it’s because of a whole bunch of things," Doan said, per Sarah McLellan of azcentral. "It’s not because of what we necessarily do or what has been done by us. It’s what has to happen and things that happen. As a fan of the team, it makes it tough."

Doan added: "You care and you take on the responsibility of the team, and then you continue to at times be an apologist for them. That’s frustrating."

In his letter, Bettman wrote, "The Arizona Coyotes must have a new arena location to succeed. The Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale."

While the team has renewed its lease with Gila River Arena, the future is murky beyond that.

Doan's contract is up at season's end, meaning he may be affected more as an observer than a player by the next step in this process.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Tom Sestito was at it again.

The Pittsburgh Penguins pest was kicked out of Wednesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets after crushing defenseman Toby Enstrom into the boards from behind.

Sestito was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, adding to the fighting major he served about 10 minutes earlier following a bout with Jets forward Chris Thorburn.

The Penguins pugilist managed to rack up the 20 penalty minutes in only 62 seconds of ice time.

Enstrom was ruled out for the rest of the game with what the Jets referred to as an "upper-body injury."

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Just like Don Sweeney ... drew it up.

The Bruins general manager pulled of a small trade with the Winnipeg Jets that saw Drew Stafford move to Boston prior to the deadline.

The winger got on the board in his third game with the club, roofing a loose puck past the Red Wings' Jared Coreau, spelling an early exit for the netminder, who was replaced by Petr Mrazek.

The goal was Stafford's fifth in 43 games this season.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Antti Raanta might be preparing his month-old daughter for a career in the crease.

The New York Rangers goaltender had miniature pads made for Evelyn Raanta, who was born in February.

These aren't the first baby-sized pads the company's made.

The CWHL and NWHL might have to wait a few years, but they may want to file Evelyn's name away for future reference.

- With h/t to Sportsnet

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.