Matt Rempe and Andreas Englund destroy each other.

These two men left it all out on the ice tonight... literally.

New York Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe was looking to set the tone early on Sunday night against the Nashville Predators and he did so by delivering a big hit to Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg less than 5 minutes into the opening period.

Rempe closed in on Blankenburg behind the Predators net and dropped Blankenburg to the ice with the force of the impact, with the Predators immediately reacting to the hit. It would be fellow Predators defenseman Andreas Englund that would come to the aid of Blankenburg and he did so by immediately challenging Rempe to drop the gloves.

Rempe immediately swung around and dropped his gloves in a single motion in response to the challenge from Englund and the fight was on as both men traded some heavy blows back and forth. Both men connected with several big time shots on their opponent and it was obvious after the fight that both men had managed to damage the other.

Rempe was busted open and appearing to be leaking from both his nose and mouth, while the signs of the war we had just witnessed were clearly written all over Englund's face.

The Predators players who had remained on the ice immediately showed how much they respected Englund for holding his own against a much larger opponent in Rempe, with all of them heading straight to the penalty box to congratulate Englund for his role in the outstanding exchange between the two combatants.

Both men put on an incredible show for the fans and at the end of the day the fans walk away with the win in this one.

Update: NHL Player Safety has issued a ruling on Matt Rempe's hit, you can read about it here.