Matt Martin admits he wanted to fight Matt Rempe at Stadium Series
Islanders forward Matt Martin admits he wanted to fight Rangers rookie Matt Rempe at the Stadium Series.
One month ago, the Battle of New York went outdoors for the second time in National Hockey League history as the Rangers and Islanders met at MetLife Stadium.
The Rangers walked away with a big 6-5 win in overtime, thanks to an Artemi Panarin goal ten seconds into the extra frame. Rangers fans will remember the game for the victory, which is their fifth outdoor win, leading all NHL teams, but hockey fans in general won't forget it for one moment - Matt Martin fighting rookie Matt Rempe, who was playing his first career game.
During the pre-game show for Sunday's game between the Islanders and Rangers, Matt Martin was asked about the fight by former St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube and said that he had no doubt he was going to drop the mitts with Matt Rempe.
He added, "They scored right away, so I was looking. Like you said, I was ready to just, you know, thinking it was going to happen at some point, just play the game. But they scored right away and I wanted to get momentum back and obviously, we went. It was a good fight. Credit to him as well. It wasn't just me giving him one, there was purpose behind it from my team as well."
In the days and weeks that followed, Rempe continued dropping the mitts, recording three in his first five National Hockey League games and he eventually landed himself in some hot water following a hit to the head of New Jersey Devils defenceman Jonas Siegenthaler. That hit on Siegenthaer earned Rempe a call with the NHL's Department of Player Safety, who ultimately suspended him for four games.
Are you a fan of Matt Rempe or has the novelty worn off already? Let us know what you think in the poll below.
| POLL | ||
Are you a fan of Matt Rempe or has the novelty worn off already? | ||
| Yes | 273 | 40.4 % |
| No, the novelty has worn off | 403 | 59.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
