Philadelphia Flyers hockey is back, baby.
The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers added another chapter to their storied rivalry on Saturday afternoon. It’s just the second meeting between the two teams this season after the Blueshirts invaded The Farg for a 3-1 win back on Black Friday.
Garnet Hathaway dropped the gloves not once but twice in that one, and likely would’ve fought a third time if that didn’t mean an automatic ejection.
On Saturday afternoon, it was Nicolas Deslauriers’ turn to make his mark on the Flyers-Rangers rivalry. He dropped the gloves with Rangers rookie forward Matt Rempe in one of the best fights you’ll see in a long time.
Both players had their opponents’ jerseys over their heads, at least momentarily, while exchanging spirited punches to the face. It was a marathon of a fight lasting over 30 seconds with Deslauriers dropping the 6-foot-7 rookie in the end.
I mean, seriously, what a fight.
Both players were a bit worse for wear after the bout with bruised faces and bloody knuckles.
Deslauriers is one of the most respected and feared fighters in the league. He entered Saturday’s contest with 729 penalty minutes in 635 career games.
Credit to Deslauriers for dropping the gloves and going right at Rempe, who had six inches on the veteran, but perhaps even more credit to the rookie for adding another big-time bout to his name.
Rempe fought veteran Matt Martin in his first NHL shift during Sunday’s Stadium Series game and followed that up with a fight and ejection just 12 seconds into his third career game. He now has 27 penalty minutes in less than five minutes of ice time in his career.
