Working the Red Line EP. 5

I think collectively as fans of the older game and older generation, line brawls are one of the few things that give us a glimpse back into the golden age of hockey.

The best part of line brawls is that they don't happen unexpectedly. There is pretty much always some sort of build up from games prior between the teams. Even pregame in warmups there is generally a little buzz from players working the red line. 

These things breed rivalries. They create passion and true emotion between two teams who truly hate each other. 

Matt Rempe debuted in the later half of the 2023-24 season with the Rangers and started his career with a bang, fighting Matt Martin just over 1 minute into the Stadium Series game at Metlife between the Rangers and Islanders. 

Rempe would continue to make his mark in the tough guy scene as he fought notable enforcers like Matthew Olivier, Nick Deslauriers, and finally sparked a rivalry with Kurtis MacDermid. 

It was late in the 2nd period of a game between the Devils and Rangers at the world's most famous in early March, as Jonas Siegenthaler crossed the red line and fired the puck deep into the Rangers end, Rempe caught him with an elbow knocking both of the players out of the game, Siegenthaler with an injury and Rempe with a match penalty. MacDermid attempted to grab Rempe but he was quickly escorted off of the ice. 

It was just under a month away till the Devils and Rangers would meet again in Manhattan. Following the March 11th game, MacDermid commented on how "he had lost respect for Rempe”. After not answering the bell. 

As I mentioned earlier it's quite easy to sense when a storm is brewing. Both Travis Green and Peter Laviolette decided to start a lineup consisting of Matt Rempe, Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, K’andre Miller and Jacob Trouba for the Rangers vs a Devils lineup of Kurtis MacDermid, Chris Tierney, Curtis Lazar, John Marino and Kevin Bahl. MacDermid claims it was a spur of the moment and did not expect each of his 4 teammates to drop the gloves, and whilst im sure he was locked in knowing his gloves were coming off, but both the other forwards quickly joined in on the brawl. Rempe and MacDermid fought for what felt like 12 rounds at centre ice, Vesey quickly tackled Lazar as their fight was over pretty much before the other 2 had started. K’andre Miller got the best of Marino and in what was the biggest mismatch Trouba beat Tienry, and although a big height difference in Goodrow and Bahl, they two had a spirited bout that ended with both on their feet. 4 fights had ended and Rempe and MacDermid were still going. While no one got the best of the other, MacDermid likely took home the win as Rempe was clearly out of every milliliter of gas he had. While wins are losses likely dont mean anything as im not sure there is anything that can fire up a team more than a line brawl at the start of the game.

The most old time moment was when Laviolette and Green started exchanging words on the beach, neither of the heads chose to back down for what looked like a pretty intense moment. 

Everyone but Vesey and Lazar were kicked out as it was deemed they were their first fight. The Fisticuffs didn't end there,  Will Cuylle dropped them with Brendan Smith and 

In what is likely the most notable line brawl since the Canucks and Flames all those years ago, the Hudson river rivalry gave us an insane spectacle that the ‘fighting belongs in hockey crowd’ absolutely love. It's about a 4 minute clip, but every single second is worth it. Check it out below! 

Rangers vs Devils Line Brawl

5 weeks is a small but nice little milestone, I love writing these and I hope everyone loves reading them. Next week I will dive into who is likely the best definition of what an enforcer was meant to do, Marty McSorley.