Logan Stankoven got into the first fight of his career after a brawl broke out between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes in the first period of Tuesday’s game. Nic Dowd ignited the melee after crashing into goaltender Frederik Andersen behind Carolina’s net.

After failing to corral or hold back Brandon Duhaime, the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Stankoven skated from the other side of the net and grabbed Martin Fehervary (third man in, rule 46.16) as the Capitals defenseman wrestled Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake down to the ice.

Both players landed punches and bloodied each other before being sent to their respective penalty boxes. While some might be shaken by the prospect of violence and hand-to-hand combat, Stankoven seemed giddy about the experience.

“Honestly, I really enjoyed it,” Stankoven said per The Hockey News’ Ryan Henkel. “You can’t be afraid of getting in there and getting your hands dirty sometimes.”

He added to WNCN’s Sara Holland, “I’ve never had a fight in my life, but I think things change over time, and I think people change. And I think when you see a teammate down like that and they try and push us around, I’m not going to stand for that. Just tried to jump in there, and next thing you know, gloves are off. And yeah, I thought it was a great fight. ”

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Feheravary held a massive size advantage in the tilt, standing 6 inches taller and weighing 50 pounds heavier. Though Fehervary has little experience fighting, dropping the gloves only twice before with Niko Mikkola of the Rangers and Dylan Cozens of the Sabres.

Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour suggested postgame that the previously fight-less Stankoven was the most physical player on the ice for his team during the scrum.

“It was a tough one because that was the line that was out there,” Brind’Amour said. “You know, he might be the toughest guy we had out there with those groups. But he’s not gonna back down. We know that.”

As for Stankoven, while he was very sure he enjoyed the fight, there was one thing he wasn’t certain about.

“I’m not sure if you can call this a rivalry or not,” he said.