During one shift in the third period, Red Wings rookie defenseman Moritz Seider was displaying his mean streak. He twice flattened Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway and also took out Washington forward Nic Dowd.

“He’s impressive to me,” Staal said. “He plays hard. He’s so good with the puck and he’s just getting better and better every day.”

However, Blashill would’ve been happier were Seider to call an end to the altercations after knocking Dowd to the ice. Instead, a post-whistle dust up ensued, ending in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to both Dowd and Seider.

“I thought it was great until it went four-on-four,” Blashill said. “We’ve talked about the fact he’s got toughness to him. He takes people on, he’s got a chip on his shoulder that way.

“I would just like him to at the very end skate to the bench because I don’t want to lose him. I don’t think it’s an equal loss there.”

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