Peter Laviolette plays it cool in presser following line brawl vs. Devils
Things got heated right after the opening face-off between the Rangers and Devils!
HockeyFeed
Hockey fans were treated to a good old fashioned line brawl just one moment after the opening face-off at center ice of Madison Square Garden between the host New York Rangers and visiting rival New Jersey Devils, as all five skaters for each team dropped the gloves and squared off.
By the time it was all said and done, there were eight total ejections before the game was even two seconds old. Additionally, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette and Devils interim coach Travis Greene got into it, yelling at one another from their respective benches. And it was all that TNT analyst Darren Pang could do to mute his microphone so that the viewing audience wouldn't hear any of the obscenities being thrown.
Afterward, Laviolette didn't appear to be upset or agitated, and even said that he didn't know that the line brawl was coming.
"No. Our guys were reacting to what was happening on the ice," he said. "I thought they did a fantastic job, all five of them."
When asked about his fiery exchange with Greene, Laviolette instead shrugged it off and drew laughter from the reporters.
"There's obviously a little bit between the two teams, I just think the emotions get in there," he said. "How's that for vague?"
Laviolette also said that he informed former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox that with the ejection of two Rangers defensemen that he was likely to reach 30 minutes of ice time.
"As soon as it was over, Foxy came back and said, 'Both D get kicked out?' I said, 'Yep, 30 minutes.'"
Fox would actually end up with just short of 30 total minutes of ice time, clocking in at 29:39 while also dishing out a pair of assists in what was a 4-1 Rangers victory that dealt a blow to the Devils' postseason hopes.
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