Sidney Crosby sucker punches Nic Dowd.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals have shared a strong rivalry over the course of the last several seasons and that rivalry reared it's ugly head once again on Saturday afternoon courtesy of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

A little less than 8 minutes into the game's opening period we had already seen the 2 teams combine for 3 goals, 2 from the Capitals and one from the Penguins, and it would appear that the Capitals were already working their way under the skin of the Penguins roster. Crosby let his frustration get the better of him around this point in the game when he was engaged in an altercation with Capitals forward Nic Dowd, one that ended with Crosby delivering a sucker punch to the head and face of his opponenent.

It was one that the National Hockey League officials on the ice caught in real time, but the Capitals would score just seconds after the punch from Crosby which would result in the 2 minute minor penalty they would have otherwise awarded him being negated.

It wasn't the hardest hit you're ever going to see, but there's no question it was a deliberate punch thrown at Dowd's head as you can see in the replay below.