Thursday night’s Rangers-Sharks game brought a heavyweight clash to Madison Square Garden.
Less than six minutes into the contest, hulking Rangers forward Matt Rempe duked it out with Sharks forward — and former Blueshirt — Ryan Reaves after the latter hit New York’s Juuso Parssinen.
With the Rangers in control of the puck in the offensive zone, play stopped as the 6-foot-9 Rempe dropped the gloves with the 6-2 Reaves.
New York Rangers’ Matt Rempe, right, fights with San Jose Sharks’ Ryan Reaves during the first period of an NHL hockey game in New York, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. AP
Matt Rempe #73 of the New York Rangers and Ryan Reaves #75 of the San Jose Sharks fight in the first period at Madison Square Garden. NHLI via Getty Images
New York Rangers’ Matt Rempe, right, fights with San Jose Sharks’ Ryan Reaves during the first period of an NHL hockey game in New York, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. AP
The two, who fought in Toronto in 2024, circled around as they sized each other up before they grabbed onto one another and traded blows, with Reaves seemingly getting in the first punch in earnest.
Both threw shots in up high, Reaves getting in the earlier punches but Rempe getting in some last licks on the San Jose player’s noggin after he held the white sweater over Reaves’ head.
That’s when referees eventually stepped in to stop the fight, and the Garden crowd roared in approval.
Kenny Albert said it best on the ESPN call: “The main event at Madison Square Garden.”
Rempe did not return for the start of the second period, done for the night with what the team deemed an “upper-body injury.”