The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils quickly turned to violence in Wednesday's matchup, engaging in an all-out battle that saw all but two players ejected as soon as the game started.
Eight players were ejected for major play during a line brawl that occurred shortly after a puck drop at Madison Square Garden.
The Devils' Curtis Lazar and the Rangers' Jimmy Basie faced off against each other in the majors, but they remained eligible because it was ruled a “first game.” All other skaters on the ice were ejected for a “secondary altercation.”
Rangers players thrown included Jacob Trouba, Matt Lempe, Quandre Miller, and Barclay Goodrow. For the Devils, John Marino, Chris Tierney, Curtis McDiarmid and Kevin Barr were ejected.
Lempe and McDiarmid sized each other up before the clash, making for perhaps the most entertaining match. Lempe has been ejected from all three of his career games against the Devils.
This is an aerial photo of the opening grudge match.
It didn't take long for Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and Devils interim coach Travis Green to get involved and take each other on the jaw. On the broadcast, they could be seen cursing and shouting from their respective benches.
This was not the first time that discord arose between the teams. Laviolette even appeared as if she had foreseen the chaos during Tuesday's practice.
“We have to win. I think division games are always a little more competitive,” Laviolette said, via the New York Post. “Playing within your own division more than everyone else probably creates a little more tension during games.”
Wednesday's incident is likely the result of Lempe's actions in his two previous encounters with demons. During a 3-1 win against the Rangers on March 11, the 21-year-old elbowed Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, causing a concussion. Lempe was ejected from the game and given a four-game suspension.
Before that, Lempe was ejected for hitting Devils forward Nathan Bastian during the Rangers' 5-1 win on February 22.
Of course, Rempe wasn't the only instigator Wednesday. The Devils and Rangers scored five scraps within his first two seconds of the entire game. This is the most in an NHL game since May 5, 2021, when the Rangers and Washington Capitals played a combined six games, according to Sportsnet statistics.
