The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars were playing their second game against each other in as many nights. The tough home-and-home series featuring the top two teams in the Central Division was sure to create a little bad blood, but as the game progressed tensions continued to rise.

The first period was pretty chippy on its own. The top two goal scorers in the league, Jamie Benn and Vladimir Tarasenko got tangled up and sent off for roughing early in the game. Later in the period things got pretty rough again when Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo appeared to jab the butt end of his stick into Benn’s ribs.

Blues forward Scottie Upshall also was shown the gate for interfering with Jordie Benn, while Stars center Tyler Seguin was sent off for roughing against Bortuzzo all in the same sequence. That still left the Stars with a power play on which Patrick Sharp scored his 13th goal of the season in rather gritty fashion:

He paid the price for that one.

The bad blood then carried over to the second period and the two clubs let it out rather quickly in the middle frame.

First up, Blues forward Troy Brouwer fought Stars agitator Antoine Roussel right after the puck was dropped to open the second. Both players were really throwing them before crashing to the ice.

After the surface was cleared of helmets, gloves and sticks, and the combatants sent to the penalty box, only four seconds of clock time passed before Stars forward Travis Moen went right after Bortuzzo to challenge him to a scrap. The Blues defenseman obliged.

Here’s a look at Brouwer vs. Roussel, which appeared to be full of an awful lot of rage:

Next up, Moen vs. Bortuzzo, which was preceded by Blues tough guy Ryan Reaves trying to get Moen to fight him instead. It was pretty clear Moen wanted to send a message specifically to Bortuzzo, though.

The two twirled each other around more than they threw punches, but it was apparent that this was Moen's revenge for whatever it was Bortuzzo did to Jamie Benn in the first period:

Twenty minutes in penalties in the form of four five-minute majors for fighting were handed out within the first seven seconds of the period. There were only three penalties the rest of the game after that.

The Stars earned a 3-0 win over the Blues in the end, but it sure looks like we're seeing a few sparks forming in what could be another great Central Division rivalry.

Depending on how things shake out in the Central, these two teams could actually meet up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before they can get there, however, they have to play each other twice more before the regular season wraps up. Those games should be rather interesting, too.

Travis Moen went after Robert Bortuzzo early in the second period. (USATSI)
Travis Moen went after Robert Bortuzzo early in the second period. (USATSI)