It was a hockey game, but the fight stole the show.
It only took three minutes of the first period for Rangers fourth-line forward Matt Rempe and Philadelphia’s Nicolas Deslauriers to drop the gloves and tangle in one of the best scrapes in recent NHL history.
The brawl went down Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Neither players nor referees attempted to intervene as the two combatants pummeled each other in a swirling fracas that ended only after Rempe hit the ice.
After sizing each other up – no small feat when it comes to Rempe, who stands 6-foot-8 – Rempe lunged at Deslauriers, and it was on. The Flyer seemed to manage the distance better. When he lunged at Deslauriers, Rempe exposed himself and paid the price for it by eating several shots. Trouble found the Ranger again later in the scrap when Deslauriers managed to get his jersey up over his head. Rempe’s attempts to get the jersey out of his face eventually gave Deslauriers the opening he needed to bring the big man to the ground.
Matt Rempe, #73 of the New York Rangers, and Nicolas Deslauriers, #44 of the Philadelphia Flyers, fought during the first period at the Wells Fargo Center on February 24, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Rempe has had two fights in the last four games. The Rangers forward has accumulated 27 minutes of penalty time and less than ten minutes of ice time, the Associated Press reports.