Martin and Ludvig drop the gloves 7 seconds into the game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins rookie may have bitten off more than he could chew.

On Sunday night, the Penguins faced off against divisional rivals the New York Islanders and both Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludvig and Islanders veteran forward Matt Martin attempted to set the tone early.

Both men dropped the gloves off of the opening faceoff with Ludvig showing no fear of the experienced bruiser in Martin, something that may have been a bit of a rookie mistake.

Ludvig would do little more than serve as a punching bag for Martin in this one as the veteran Islanders forward pummeled Ludvig with flurry of punches to the head and face until the young Penguins defenseman crumpled to the ice.

Full marks to Ludvig for even stepping up to challenge Martin in the first place, but it may not be a challenge he looks to issue again in the future given the way this one turned out for him.