Current:Home > ContactRangers-Devils game starts with wild line brawl, eight ejections and a Matt Rempe fight -PureWealth Academy
Rangers-Devils game starts with wild line brawl, eight ejections and a Matt Rempe fight
View
Date:2025-04-12 13:09:27
NEW YORK — A melee broke out at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
The fireworks between New York Rangers rookie Matt Rempe and New Jersey Devils tough guy Kurtis MacDermid were expected, but all 10 skaters on the ice ended up dropping the gloves in the opening seconds.
The result was game misconduct penalties for Rempe, Barclay Goodrow, K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba on the New York side, and MacDermid, Kevin Bahl, John Marino and Chris Tierney for New Jersey. That meant both teams would have to play the remainder of the game with four fewer players available on the bench.
The Rempe-MacDermid beef carried over from the Rangers’ 3-1 win on Mar. 11, when Rempe declined MacDermid’s repeated challenges throughout the game before concussing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler with an elbow that led to a four-game suspension.
“First shift I asked him (to fight). There's a bit of a code, and I thought he would answer that. I don't know what he was told, but he said, 'No,'" MacDermid said at the time. "After a hit like that, it kind of goes without saying that you should answer the bell and be a man about it. ... There's a right way to go about things and a wrong way. I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight."
That led to Wednesday's highly anticipated bout, which began with a few heavy blows from MacDermid but saw Rempe hang in tough until the end. Both brawlers continued to throw punches well after the other four fights had ended.
Rempe was a healthy scratch in each of the previous three games and remains on the bubble to make the cut for the Rangers' playoff lineup. He's been effective in spurts, but has now been assessed nearly as many penalty minutes (69) as total time on ice (76).
Head coach Peter Laviolette recently said he'd like to see him avoid staged fights and show what he can do within the flow of the game, but the action seems to follow the 6-foot-8, 241-pounder around.
"You can't go fight everybody that you hit," Laviolette said. "You have to play your game, do your thing. He's got no restrictions, but in the same sense, I don't think it's smart to (fight) in second No. 1. I'd like to see him go play the game and establish his game out there."
Rempe has expressed his desire to do just that, but it's been easier said than done with many of the NHL's toughest enforcers gunning for him.
"I know I can be an effective player inside the rules of the game," he said upon returning from his suspension.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
veryGood! (15274)
Related
- 'Most Whopper
- Will Lionel Messi play vs. Toronto Saturday? Here's the latest update on Inter Miami star
- David Gilmour says 'absolutely not' for Pink Floyd reunion amid Roger Waters feud
- Michigan offense finds life with QB change, crumbles late in 27-17 loss at Washington
- Tony Hawk drops in on Paris skateboarding and pushes for more styles of sport in LA 2028
- North Carolina native Eric Church releases Hurricane Helene benefit song 'Darkest Hour'
- Officer who killed Daunte Wright is taking her story on the road with help from a former prosecutor
- Former owner of water buffalo that roamed Iowa suburb for days pleads guilty
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Neighbors of Bitcoin Mine in Texas File Nuisance Lawsuit Over Noise Pollution
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- 'Extremely grateful': Royals ready for Yankees, ALDS as pitching quartet makes most of chances
- Will Lionel Messi play vs. Toronto Saturday? Here's the latest update on Inter Miami star
- Bad News, Bears? States Take Legal Actions to End Grizzlies’ Endangered Species Protections
- Chief beer officer for Yard House: A side gig that comes with a daily swig.
- Donald Glover Cancels Childish Gambino Tour Following Hospitalization
- Is Boar's Head deli meat safe to eat? What experts say amid listeria outbreak
- Search for missing 22-year-old Yellowstone employee scaled back to recovery mission
Recommendation
3 years after the NFL added a 17th game, the push for an 18th gets stronger
Jelly Roll's Wife Bunnie XO Details TMI Experience Microdosing Weight-Loss Drug
Frustrated Helene survivors struggle to get cell service in destructive aftermath
The Princess Diaries 3 Is Officially in the Works—And No, We Will Not Shut Up
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
TikToker Katie Santry Found a Rug Buried In Her Backyard—And Was Convinced There Was a Dead Body
TikToker Katie Santry Found a Rug Buried In Her Backyard—And Was Convinced There Was a Dead Body
How Trump credits an immigration chart for saving his life and what the graphic is missing