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Justin Sourdif chose violence to kick off the 2026 calendar year.
After recording his first career multi-goal game on Wednesday, the rookie forward decided to make an impact in a more physical way. Sourdif’s ornery first period started when he received a cross-check to the head from Senators forward Drake Batherson right before Tom Wilson put the Capitals up 1-0 in the contest.
Sourdif had just put a rebound attempt off of goaltender Leevi Merilainen’s pads when Batherson ran him over. The 23-year-old centerman earned his seventh assist of the season on Wilson’s marker.
Sourdif would enact his first bit of revenge just 1:28 later with the Capitals on a power play. Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot went back in his own zone to make a clear on the penalty kill, but kept his head down as he came around the net.
Sourdif, now in a testy mood, demolished the veteran blueliner, sending him flying to the ice as if he were runover by Tom Wilson. Chabot got up slowly, sporting a cut on his cheek from where his visor impacted his face.
Batherson and Sourdif then became reacquainted with 5:35 remaining in the opening frame. With Rasmus Sandin holding the puck behind Washington’s net, Batherson challenged Sourdif to a fight, forcing him to answer for the big hit on Chabot.
Sourdif took a few blows from Batherson, but got up and continued in the bout, receiving huge stick taps from the Capitals bench. The two combatants each received five-minute major penalties for fighting.
The fight was the first of Sourdif’s NHL career. He had two prior pro fights on his ledger, getting into both last season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Batherson is not a regular face-puncher as well, with only two career NHL bouts under his belt. Notably, he got into a scrap with Florida Panthers star forward Matthew Tkachuk in 2023.
In what was arguably the most feisty period of Sourdif’s career, he finished the first with one hit, one shot, one assist, and five PIMs.
He later added another primary assist on Aliaksei Protas’s game-tying goal late in the third period, giving him points on two of the Caps three tallies on the day.
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