Wednesday's matchup between the Flames and Red Wings in Detroit was an unlikely candidate to be the testiest game of the NHL season, but it managed to deliver an old time hockey experience.

Fans in attendance got to see their hometown Red Wings put eight (8!) goals past Calgary, but the most talked about highlight came in the form of a line brawl late in the third period. 

NHL: Calgary Flames at Detroit Red Wings
A brawl broke out in front of the benches during the third period of Wednesday's game in Detroit. USATSI

The dust-up came when Detroit's Luke Witkowski fought (and roughed up) Calgary's Brett Kulak. The Flames seemed to take exception to Witkowski slamming Kulak on the ice after the fight, a move that violates hockey's unwritten code. Calgary's 19-year-old forward (and notorious troll god) Matthew Tkachuk confronted Witkowski by giving him a lovetap on the back of the legs as he headed off the ice. 

That's where things got nasty.

Witkowski stepped back onto the ice and sparked a whole lot of shenanigans. In the end, a plethora of penalties were called and five players were handed game misconducts, including Tkachuk and Witkowski. Detroit wound up getting a five-minute power play as a result. 

Here's the full rundown of the penalties handed out in the third period:

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In the end, the teams racked up 111 combined penalty minutes during the Wings' 8-2 victory. It was an entertaining affair filled with an old school animosity that has become somewhat rare in today's mild-mannered NHL. Unfortunately, these teams will not meet again this season to revisit the bad blood. 

It's worth pointing out that there might be some supplemental discipline to come down from the league as a result of this incident. Tkachuk will likely get some sort of fine or suspension for chasing a player off the ice and "spearing" (using the term very lightly there) them in an attempt to antagonize.

But the big loser in this whole ordeal might be Witkowski, as the NHL rulebook says he could receive a 10-game suspension for coming back on the ice after being ordered to the locker room. It's outlined in Rule 70.6:

Any player or goalkeeper who has been ordered to the dressing room by the officials and returns to his bench or to the ice surface for any reason before the appropriate time shall be assessed a game misconduct and shall be suspended automatically without pay for the next ten (10) regular League and/or Play-off games.

A 10-game ban seems rather hefty for what went down, but it would also be hard to argue against his actions qualifying for the automatic suspension laid out by the rule.