Getty The Rangers and the Hurricans fought another tight game in which physical activity was visible.
With the second-round series between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes scheduled to reach its midway point (assuming it goes the full seven-game distance) on Saturday, May 11, tensions and physicality kept rising in Game 3 on Thursday, May 9.
In another contest that went to overtime and ended with the third consecutive Rangers win against Carolina, both teams didn’t quite exchange pleasantries on the ice. The biggest scuffle took place early, with 8:35 minutes left in the first period of Game 3.
Tempers are flaring which leads to Vesey and Kotkaniemi dropping gloves!
Hurricanes rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov covered a puck on the edge of his crease as veteran Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow tried to poke it away from his glove right before the officials blew the whistle calling the play dead.
That seemingly harmless action didn’t sit well with Carolina as all five Hurricanes skaters swarmed Goodrow, and igniting a full-blown scrum.
Rangers & Hurricanes Keep Fighting Against Each Other
Following Goodrow’s action on Kochetkov, who was making his postseason debut on goal in replacement for scratched Frederik Andersen, Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey took the fighting baton.
Vesey, who was close to the Hurricanes goal, skated toward Dmitry Orlov and tried to grab the defender by the neck. Once engaged with each other, both fell to the ice and Orlov lost his helmet.
A few seconds after disengaging, Vesey pushed Hurricanes’ Martin Necas hitting him in the face and fostering a chase followed by the first drop of gloves between the Rangers forward and Carolina’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Kotkaniemi and Vesey drop the gloves as Game 3 is heating up! 👀🍿
The referees reacted quickly enough to prevent a fight, although both players had enough time to throw a few punches.
A few players were still engaged in opposing pairs grabbing each other by the time the fight was defused. The little scrum led to a television timeout so officials could determine the penalties to be handed to those involved in the brawl, which gave way to another bizarre moment.
Hurricanes’ Tony DeAngelo Wanted to Fight… Whoever Was Up For It
Once the broadcast returned, a replay was aired showing both teams’ benches with all players separated by the refs and standing as they waited for the announcement of the penalties called on them.
Current Hurricanes defenseman and former Rangers player Tony DeAngelo, who has been involved in many altercations throughout this series, had a rather bizarre sequence of actions.
DeAngelo was shown apparently seeking a confrontation with someone, anyone on the Rangers’ side.
Tony DeAngelo dropping his gloves against… the air? 🧐
He was saying something to Rangers’ Goodrow and Will Cuylle and he eventually dropped his gloves, although no player from New York was interested in entering a fight against him.
After all was said and done, the officials handed out four minor penalties. Two players from each team were sent to the penalty box for two minutes. Vesey and Goodrow got them for the Rangers while Orlov and Kotkaniemi were on Carolina’s side of the offense.
Perhaps the funniest thing is that all of this happened in Game 3, the first contest in this series that has not featured New York’s main instigator Matt Rempe, who was scratched to make room for the returning Filip Chytil.
Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov scored a late goal with 1:36 left in regulation to tie the game at 2-2 after Carolina pulled its goalie. The Rangers responded quickly in the overtime with Artemi Panarin scoring the game-winning goal just 1:43 into the extra period giving New York a 3-2 win and a 3-0 series lead.
Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, in Carolina’s PNC Arena with the Hurricanes forced to win all next four games left in the second round to avoid elimination.