Watch Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin drop the gloves (Video)

Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin don’t drop the gloves often, but on Wednesday night they went toe-to-toe.

Wednesday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins initially promised to be competitive, with stars like Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin on the ice. But things went off the rails early, as Pittsburgh jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the first period was even half over on their way to a 4-2 victory.

Games like that invite extra curricular activity, and it was a physical game as the two teams combined for 98 hits. But there was only one fighting major in the contest, but not between anyone you’d think. After Malkin got a little loose with his stick, and Stamkos retaliated with a cross-check, the two stars dropped the gloves early in the third period when the Penguins led 4-0.

Stamkos and Malkin are of course best known for the scoring prowess, not toughness or fighting ability. Thanks to Hockey Fights, we know just how rare the two stars fight. It was the fifth fight for Stamkos in his career, and the ninth for Malkin. As a comparison, the league leaders just for this season so far have gotten five fighting majors.

Malkin drops gloves a little bit more often than Stamkos does, and Penguins defenseman Kris Letang noted Wednesday night’s battle would probably be Malkin’s one venture into the ice-covered squared circle for the season.

The pure rarity and shock value of the Stamkos-Malkin fight obscured the fact Letang scored in the game, tying Paul Coffey for the Penguins’ franchise record for career goals by a defenseman. And no one will remember the score, as the Lightning rallied to score twice and narrow the margin.

The immediate eye test says Malkin won the fight, based purely on getting a hold of Stamkos around the neck and getting a take-down. But the updated voting Thursday morning on Hockey Fights narrowly tilts toward Stamkos, 6-5, with 11 votes for a draw.