Mary Altaffer/AP
Kurtis MacDermid (left) and Matt Rempe fight during an NHL game between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils.
CNN
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A full five to five fight There was an explosion two seconds after the opening puck drop between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
As the fights broke out, a total of eight players — four from each team — were ejected before even a minute had been played.
The main fight was between Rangers forward Matt Rembe and Devils defenseman Kurtis McDermidt, who continued to fight at center ice after the other players separated.
When the teams faced each other at Madison Square Garden last month, Rembe, 21, refused to fight MacDermid early in the game.
“I'm always going to have a lot of respect for him, he's a young kid, trying to do his thing to stay in the league, and I understand that. He's going to learn, he's a big, tough, strong kid,” McDermidt said. said Reporters after the game.
He said he did not expect other players from either team to join and described the mass brawl as a “spur of the moment” incident.
“It's great to see the team bond in that way and have each other's backs,” MacDermid said. “After a situation like that, the other team picked up a lot of slack in the minutes, they played hard and had a great game tonight. Not getting two points.”
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Chris Greider (center) scores for the Rangers.
Chris Kreider scored a power play goal in a tight contest to give the Rangers a 4-3 win.
New York's Jacob Trouba, K'Andre Miller, Barclay Kudrow and Rembe were ejected, while New Jersey's Kevin Ball, John Marino, Chris Tierney and McDermidt also received their marching orders.
Meanwhile, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and Devils interim head coach Travis Green got into a heated exchange after the fight.
“There was a lot going on,” Green said said Reporters. “Obviously, there were five fights to start the game. I don't know if anyone expected that. It was an emotional game.
“Until Peter and I go, I see, he shouts, talks to me, and I'm ready to go and talk to him, and I don't know why Peter's mad.”
He added: “Their soldiers were fighting face to face, none of this would have happened … if anything had happened before.”
