Massive Brawl at the Start of Devils-Rangers Game Sets the Pace

Two seconds after the puck dropped at Madison Square Garden, a 10-man fight broke loose in the Devils-Rangers game, resulting in eight ejections. In an important game between two rival squads, the playing action was put on delay to make up for previous encounters. The last time the Devils met with the Rangers was in Madison Square Garden on March 11. That night, New Jersey’s defenseman, Kurtis MacDermid, challenged New York’s forward, Matt Rempe, to a fight. Rempe declined the fight in that meetup, then later knocked Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler out of the contest with a high elbow shot. To make things right, the Devils looked for revenge and the Rangers were ready to throw the gloves down.

All eyes were on Matt Rempe and Kurtis MacDermid, the two who stirred up the fight in the first place. They did not hold back either, giving a hockey-fighting fan a full show, going well beyond the other pairs of fights. Four player ejections from each team were then issued, sparing only the goalies and the first, shortest fight between Jimmy Vesey and Curtis Lazar.  Although five pre-game fights is a shock, Devils interim coach Travis Green admitted, “We all know why it happened tonight. Something happened the game before.” This set the tone of an emotional and hard-fought game. Later in the first period, Rangers’ Will Cuylle provoked another fight after ramming a player into the boards.

Throughout the chaos, the game still played out in a thriller. The Rangers put their foot down, ending the first period up 2-0. The Devils responded with three goals of their own and a clean sheet in the second period, taking the lead 3-2. In the end, the home team got the last punch. The Rangers were able to tie the game quickly in the final period, then take advantage of a power play with five minutes remaining to seal the win. With the win, New York solidified its top seed in the East and buried its rival farther out of the Wildcard while doing so.