Malkin and Kuznetsov got in battle before puck drop!

The rivalry is there, there’s no doubt about that. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals always offer fans a great show, and it wasn’t any different on Tuesday night, and they even got things going before puck drop. 

Pens’ star player Evgeni Malkin was sticking around, circling on the ice towards the end of warmup to respect one of his superstitions. However, he who loves to shoot in the opposing net was waiting for the right moment to do so. 

Caps’ Evgeny Kuznetsov was having none of it. He dislodged the Capitals net and it turned it around before leaving the ice at the end of warmups. Insider Tom Gulitti of NHL.com didn’t get at first what was going on when he finally saw Malkin shoot down toward the net before leaving the ice.

Kuznetsov was making sure his team’s net was staying clean from Geno’s shot, already battling with the Pens ahead of the game. 

Check it out:

However, it did not stop Malkin from scoring the first goal of the contest and getting his team in the lead. 

You gotta love this rivalry!