Running NHL 2023-24 regular season thread

[The Big Ragu]

You'd think I'd be ecstatic about the season the Rangers have had, and I am. But I wish I could just take the attitude of, "OK, start resting guys, let's get ready for the playoffs. And I don't feel that way, because I look at the way the wildcard teams are setting up, and if the Rangers can't hold on to the top seed ... they are probably facing Tampa in the first round, and that is a nightmare to me.

 

[DanOregon]

I'm thinking he thinks he has the best seat.

Did you see the point where the benches started jawwing at each other? I thought they were going to go through him.

 

[Chef2]

That was a thing of beauty.
Everyone knew something was happening, but didn't expect a 5 on 5.
Referees just have to sit back and make sure nobody goes down and start raking notes.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Did you see the point where the benches started jawwing at each other? I thought they were going to go through him.

No. They'll verbally blast one another, but the fisticuffs were going to be kept on the ice.

Just enjoy the vocabulary lesson and move on. At least it wasn't Pierre Maguire, who wouldn't discuss anything about incidents such as those when he was on the air, which was one of most cowardly stances anyone in his position could take.

 

[DanOregon]

I did notice they shut that mike down - quickly.

 

[DanOregon]

I know teams have goons - do teams also carry a guy who is the "designated punchee? So a skilled player doesn't get hurt?

 

[Liut]

Suddenly, the analyst between the two benches isn't thinking he's got such a great seat.

Are you kidding? That's Darren Pang! He's thinking he's got the best seat in the house.

 

[The Big Ragu]

One of the best parts of Pang between between the benches during Rangers games is Artemi Panarin reaching over throughout the game and taking the cups of gatorade Pang had lined up for himself. He did it right after the line brawl.

It's been an ongoing thing whenever TNT is doing a Rangers game.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/f9EOOpuX57M

FWIW, TNT's coverage of the line brawl was horrifically bad when I watched this morning. Rather than zooming out so you could see the chaos, the camera person was singularly focused on Rempe and MacDermid. At one point they left the brawl for a few seconds to show Shesterkin picking up equipment from the ice for some reason.

 

[JC]

This one was actually kind of fun to watch, but for the most part the staged Rempe fights are really annoying me. That is now three games Matt Rempe has played against NJ. ... and three games he has been ejected from.

NJ and Kurtis Macdermid rightfully had a problem with his elbow to Jonas Siegenthaler's head last time they played and his behavior on the way off the ice. Rempe had been a healthy scratch for a few games, but was back in the lineup for this, presumably to answer the bell so one of his teammates didn't have to. So everyone knew a fight was coming, that was the reason half the idiots in the stands were in the building.

NJ put out its fourth line w/Macdermid to start the game, Laviolette answered with Rempe and the Rangers fourth line, and everyone was ready for the fight to get out of the way quickly when all the players on the ice dropped the gloves.

The irony is that I thought Rempe got slapped around pretty good, but the other four Rangers held their own, particularly K'Andre Miller who is a big kid, but never fights and gets criticized by Rangers fans for not being physical enogh sometimes. He ragdolled John Marino behind where the camera was focussed. They kicked everyone except Jimmy Vesey and Curtis Lazar out of the game, which I thought was dumb, because technically their fights started after Vesey's fight.

Hopefully they got that out of the way and they can get back to Rempe being a healthy scratch. He doesn't add enough to the team for this stupidity and if he's on the roster for the playoffs, it's a waste as far as I am concerned. But he's definitely a cult hero at the garden, so I am out of the mainstream on this one. The prior game when he was scratched they were doing "We want Rempe" chants.

That's why Vesey and Lazar were allowed to stay because their fight technically started first. Every participant after that gets game misconducts.

 

[mateen]

The Rempe-MacDermid fight makes sense within the odd culture of the NHL. But I'm not really sure this required everyone getting involved. If I'm in charge of the Rangers I certainly don't want guys who actually play and rarely fight, like Trouba and Miller, getting into fights and potentially breaking a hand or something like that when the playoffs are this close.

 

[The Big Ragu]

That's why Vesey and Lazar were allowed to stay because their fight technically started first. Every participant after that gets game misconducts.

I understand the rule and why they penalized it the way they did. But I found it dumb b/c it was a line brawl, not a case of other guys jumping in to escalate a contained fight. It's one of those technical things that misses the spirit of why they actually made the rule.

 

[The Big Ragu]

The Rempe-MacDermid fight makes sense within the odd culture of the NHL. But I'm not really sure this required everyone getting involved. If I'm in charge of the Rangers I certainly don't want guys who actually play and rarely fight, like Trouba and Miller, getting into fights and potentially breaking a hand or something like that when the playoffs are this close.

I think this is why Laviolette was pissed. I think he thought it was going to be Rempe and MacDermid, but the Devils had other ideas. If he knew it was going to be an all out brawl, he probably would have kept Trouba and Miller off the ice. It's not that surprising, the Devils were pissed and they really have nothing else to play for at this point.