The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils engaged in a violent brawl at the start of Wednesday’s game, resulting in the ejection of all but two players. The fight erupted immediately after the puck dropped at Madison Square Garden, with eight players receiving fighting majors and being forced to leave the game. Among those ejected were Jacob Trouba, Matt Rempe, K’Andre Miller, and Barclay Goodrow from the Rangers, as well as John Marino, Chris Tierney, Kurtis MacDermid, and Kevin Bahl from the Devils.
Devils’ Curtis Lazar and Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey received fighting majors but were allowed to continue playing as they were considered the “first fight.” The rest of the players involved in the brawl were ejected due to their “secondary altercations.” Rempe and MacDermid engaged in a particularly heated fight, marking the third time Rempe has been ejected in games against the Devils. Both head coaches, Peter Laviolette and Travis Green, also joined in the verbal sparring on the bench during the chaos.
The animosity between the two teams was not unexpected, as Laviolette had hinted at the competitive nature of division games during a practice
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