Punches thrown between Evgeni Malkin and Craig Adams during a morning skate fight

Two teammates fighting each other in the morning skate? Yes that happened this morning for the Penguins.

Forward Craig Adams left the ice with a towel over his mouth after being popped by Evgeni Malkin with a right, according to an observer, and head coach Mike Johnston confirmed afterwards that things got heated and punches were thrown by both players.

Johnston, though, was not on the ice during the fight and said he was still sorting things out. Morning skates especially near the end are very relaxed, and for those saying this happens a lot, they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Will there be repercussions for Adams getting into it with a superstar? Probably not but Steve Downie for instance got his ticket out of town in Colorado last season for crushing star forward Gabriel Landeskog with a hard hit in training camp that led to a scrum. You never know how teams will react when it comes to protecting their stars in-house.

Other news out of the morning skate is Downie will return to the lineup and Thomas Greiss will start in goal. Ben Bishop goes for the Lightning.