NEW YORK — Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and Devils goalie Jacob Markström fought in the third period of New York’s 4-1 win Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Shesterkin looked to get the edge, feeding Markström with a series of right-handed punches.

“I’m trying not to swear, but that was awesome,” captain J.T. Miller said.

“What a great fight,” coach Mike Sullivan added. “I didn’t know Shesty had that in him.”

The tension started when Devils forward Paul Cotter made contact with Shesterkin, driving to the net. Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov immediately shoved Cotter against the glass. Shesterkin, known as a fiery presence, left his crease to give Cotter a shove. Markström, evidently unhappy at Shesterkin pushing Cotter, skated down the ice and asked Shesterkin to fight.

“I saw Shesty in the scrum, and normally, nothing happens,” Miller said. “But I turned around and saw Marky in our crease. I was like, ‘This is great.’”

🚨 GOALIE FIGHT ALERT 🚨

IGOR SHESTERKIN AND JACOB MARKSTROM THROW DOWN 🥊 pic.twitter.com/vEa9Ye0Yxr

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 1, 2026

The Rangers’ goalie accepted Markström’s invitation, and the two fought for more than 20 seconds. Shesterkin’s first thought was about how big the 6-foot-6 Markström was, but the smaller goalie still managed to land the majority of the blows.

“I just didn’t want to get knocked out,” Shesterkin said.

Markström had never fought at the NHL level, but he dropped the gloves with AHL Utica in 2015. The fight was the first of Shesterkin’s career. He said with a smile that he thought his first fight would come against Islanders’ goalie Ilya Sorokin, one of his friends.

“I’ll wait for him,” he added.

The Madison Square Garden crowd erupted as soon as the goalies engaged with each other. They began chanting Shesterkin’s name after the fight, then roared again when the public address announcer read his name going over the penalty minutes.

“The whole stadium was so loud,” Shesterkin said.

Cotter received a two-minute penalty for goaltender interference, and Shesterkin and Markström were given two-minute penalties for leaving the crease and five minutes for fighting.

“He did a good job, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it,” said Markstöm, who added he saw the exchange with Cotter and wanted to give his team a spark.

Shesterkin made 22 saves in net, and Sullivan raved about his work ethic and competitiveness in his postgame press conference.

“Shesty means so much to this team,” the coach said. “In a lot of ways he’s the foundation. … I think in a lot of ways he personifies what we want to become.”

Shesterkin’s teammates were elated for him to have his moment, and they made sure to give him props in the aftermath. If it were a boxing match, he would’ve been victorious.

“Fellas told me I probably won by points,” Shesterkin said.