Michael Pezzetta and Hayden Hodgson trade heavy blows in a spirited tilt – Source: Getty

Friday’s game between Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens saw a spirited tilt that ignited both benches.

The incident occurred in the second period when Canadiens forward Michael Pezzetta and Senators forward Hayden Hodgson dropped their gloves right off the faceoff. Pezzetta landed several hard rights, with Hodgson countering with lefts of his own.

After more than 25 seconds of back-and-forth action, Hodgson lost his balance and fell to the ice. The linesmen intervened to stop the fight.

Watch the video here:

Both Pezzetta and Hodgson were assessed fighting majors for their roles in the scrap.

The Senators secured a 5-2 win. Shane Pinto led the way with two goals, while Dylan Cozens, Ridly Greig and Drake Batherson also scored. Linus Ullmark stopped 20 shots.

Christian Dvorak and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal. Sam Montembeault made 27 saves in the loss.

The Senators hold the top wild-card spot with 92 points, while the Canadiens sit close behind in the second wild-card position with 87.

Hayden Hodgson, Senators win 5-2 against Canadiens

The Senators opened the scoring just 28 seconds into the game, as Shane Pinto netted a goal off Ridly Greig’s pass from behind the net, with an additional assist from Michael Amadio.

Dylan Cozens then scored on a rebound from a point shot to extend the lead to 2-0 at 4:18 of the first period, assisted by Nikolas Matinpalo and Tyler Kleven. Ridly Greig pushed the lead to 3-0 just 1:05 into the second, taking a pass from Amadio.

Dvorak scored at 2:26 to cut the lead to 3-1. But Drake Batherson responded at 14:14 of the period, assisted by Thomas Chabot and Nick Jensen, making it 4-1.

Nick Suzuki then netted a late goal in the second period to bring the Canadiens within two, 4-2.

Montreal pulled its goalie late in the third period, but Pinto sealed the win for Ottawa with his second of the night — an empty-netter at 17:44 — to close out the 5-2 victory.

“It’s not the start we’re looking for, it’s always tough to come back. I thought we showed some fight, but you gotta start better,” Montreal forward Cole Caufield said after the game.

Up next, Montreal will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Ottawa will next face the Philadelphia Flyers.