Just two seconds into tonight's matchup between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, a line brawl had broken out, with all 10 players on the ice dropping the gloves, leading to 8 elections.
New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe had this game circled in his calendar from his previous encounter against the New Jersey Devils. In the previous meeting, the Rangers rookie delivered a vicious hit to the head of Devils forward Jonas Siegenthaler resulting in a concussion. Rempe's action's got him a ten game suspension. Newly acquired Devils enforcer Kurtis MacDermid challenged Rempe to a fight at the time, but he declined.
Just as the puck dropped in tonight's game, MacDermid and Rempe dropped the gloves at center ice to settle things. MacDermid was landing the bigger shots early, Rempe picked up the pace as the fight went on. Both heavyweights delivered some good shots during the lengthy scrap.
The Devils that fought were Curtis Lazar, John Marino, Chris Tierney, Kevin Bahl and, of course, MacDermid. From the Rangers' side, it was Jacob Trouba, K'Andre Miller, Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and the aforementioned Rempe.
Lazar, Vesey, Bahl, Tierney, Miller and Marino received an additional ten minute misconduct for their actions. A total of 8 players were ejected as a result of the melee.