The New York Islanders hosted the New York Rangers during the 2024 NHL Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series on Sunday afternoon, and despite playing outdoors at MetLife Stadium, it didn’t take long for the bad blood between the rival teams to leave its mark on the game.
Rangers rookie Matt Rempe made his NHL debut in the game, and he wound up getting into a skirmish before the puck even dropped during his first shift of the game.
The puck was set to drop after an early goal from Rangers’ Erik Gustafsson just under 90 seconds into the first period. Players lined up for the face-off, but before play could resume, Rempe and veteran Islanders winger Matt Martin got tangled up and began exchanging punches.
