Watch: 10 players involved, eight ejected in Devils-Rangers line brawl
Fans in attendance at Madison Square Garden knew once New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe and New Jersey Devils forward Kurtis MacDermid were in the starting lineup, the gloves were going to drop right from the jump.
Neither player disappointed, engaging in one of the more entertaining heavyweight bouts of the NHL season; however, as Rempe and MacDermid were mixing it up, so were the other eight skaters for both teams as a full-scale line brawl broke out.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and Devils interim head coach Travis Green also exchanged words in a heated confrontation after the chaotic series of fights.
Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey and Devils forward Curtis Lazar declared the first fight, which meant every other player who engaged in a fight after was tossed from the game.
In total, eight players were ejected included New York’s Barclay Goodrow, K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba and Rempe plus New Jersey’s Chris Tierney, Kevin Bahl, John Marino and MacDermid.
Both teams lost their second defensive pairings and two-thirds of their second forward lines and have to play the remaining 59-plus minutes with 10 forwards instead of 12 and four defensemen instead of six.
Less than five minutes after the eight ejections, Devils forward Dawson Mercer and Rangers forward Will Cuylle were involved in the sixth fight of the first period.
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