Geoff Burke — Imagn ImagesWASHINGTON — Jacob Trouba knew it was coming. As the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks got underway on Monday, he knew he was going to have to answer for the big hit that injured rookie Ryan Leonard just a month ago in California, and minutes into play, went toe-to-toe with Brandon Duhaime.
While Duhaime didn't exactly win the bout, it was enough to spark Leonard, and with him, the rest of the Capitals, as Leonard went on to exact revenge in his own way with a multi-point outing.
"It doesn't happen without Dewey doing that," Leonard said. "It goes without saying, just the respect that I have for him and Mac to both of them had my back and seemed like the whole team did too. Great brotherhood in here, really, really fortunate to be part of this group... it's unbelievable."
Duhaime has taken a young Leonard under his wing since his arrival in D.C., helping the freshman not only get acquainted to the speed and strength of the NHL, but introducing him to adult life, taking him to Costco and spending time with him away from the rink.
So, when it was Duhaime to pick a fight with Trouba, who "knew it was coming," Leonard said it meant quite a bit.
"The brotherhood... it's unbelievable," Leonard added.
Add in another fight from Dylan McIlrath, taking down Ross Johnston in the second, and Washington cruised to a four-goal advantage in the second that paved the way for a wild 7-4 victory.
"I love that, for Leno to point that out, Dewey stepping up and to do that essentially for his team. He's standing in there and then Mac, he's just a warrior and the guys love him so much. He's such a great teammate, he's such an important part of our team," coach Spencer Carbery said. "The building comes alive, our bench comes alive... we're not short on players like that and people like that that have that type of character."
That said, the Capitals believe it's just all part of the job.
"Massive. Massive," goaltender Charlie Lindgren said of the fights and their impact. "Those two guys, we love those two guys, the whole team. They're high-character guys, and two big tilts got us going.
"The great thing about this team is we protect each other, we care for each other... we showed that."