“I’m a competitor,” said Matt Rempe last year after his bout with Ryan Reaves during the New York Rangers-Toronto Maple Leafs game. The fisticuff was rightly touted as the clash of the Goliaths, given how Rempe and Reaves are two of the biggest enforcers in the NHL. With the Sharks coming to the Big Apple on Thursday, many fans had hoped to witness the second round of the feud. Goes without saying, the matinee showdown did not disappoint.

On October 23, Bleacher Report took to X to share how the former New York Rangers’ winger, Reaves, received a not-so-warm welcome from Rempe at the teams’ latest meeting. Captioned, “HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT between Sharks and Rangers. 6’9″ Rempe vs. 6’2″ Reaves and they were throwing HAYMAKERS,” the social media update shows the two hockey stars sending the crowd at the Madison Square Garden into a frenzy with their weighted punches.

Rempe’s rookie season went viral for the youngster’s eagerness to drop gloves against his foes. On Thursday, following Reaves knocking the hosts’ Juuso Parssinen off the latter’s skates, Rempe got the perfect opportunity to flex his muscles yet again. Just six minutes into the game, and Round 2 of the war, the two towering forwards were at each other’s throats.

The duo kept landing blows on each other for almost a whole minute, and the home crowd could hardly stop egging them on. After all, not every day do you get to see two of the beefiest hockey stars of the generation to hurl fists at each other. Reaves drew the first blood and knocked Rempe’s helmet off the latter’s head. The New York Rangers winger responded in kind: a slew of his uppercuts while connected to Ryan and the Rangers’ hot-headed youngster even pulled the visiting star’s jersey over his head.

Not the kind of welcome Reaves had expected to be met with at his former stomping ground. But hey, at least he got the last laugh. While the veteran NHL-er went to the box to serve his penalty, Rempe had to return to the tunnel and was ruled out for the remainder of the match. After the game, the New York Rangers’ head coach, Mike Sullivan, said, “He’s being evaluated right now for an upper-body injury.” Now, it remains to be seen if Matt returns to the ice for Sunday’s match-up against the Flames.

To add to Reaves’ delight, the Sharks managed to defeat a beat-up New York Rangers with an OT goal in the former’s own backyard. Thanks to an incredible hat trick by Macklin Celebrini and a brace by Will Smith, San Jose finally bagged its first win of the 2025-26 season. Smith also scored the match-winning goal. ““It’s fun when you win. It was a great game. Madison Square Garden and to get our first win, it’s good,” Macklin said later, about the win.

While it was all smiles at the Sharks’ camp, the Rangers looked as astray as ever. The road to getting back into shape won’t be an easy one.

The New York Rangers’ misfortunes continue

The New York team has been looking wobbly for a long, long time. Last season, they missed the playoffs. While the fans were up for giving the squad a pass for the poor regular-season performance, when they got to know that forward Chris Kreider was battling physical issues throughout the entire time, they couldn’t stop lashing out at the management. Pretty valid, these grievances. This year, too, things aren’t looking much brighter. After nine matches, the Rangers have only 3 wins and 8 points.

What’s even worse, the Rangers remained goalless in their first three home games this season. As a result, the Oilers blitzed into the Big Apple, and the back-to-back Stanley Cup finalist goalie, Stuart Skinner, even managed to redeem himself of the heartbreak from the championship series from the 2024-25 season. Understandably, everyone’s looking for answers. Amidst the troubling times, the gaze turns to J.T. Miller, the squad captain, to navigate the ship.

“First of all, let’s not make this bigger than it is…A lot to like about our game. It’s a unique situation, but let’s not blow this out of proportion here,” the Rangers captain said after Edmonton trampled New York over last week. But even as the pack leader tried to assure the fans that better days were just around the corner, no visible change could be spotted from a mile away. Sullivan’s boys hit the road on Sunday, en route to making four stops across North America before heading home again. Will things turn a better corner for the boys by the time their long trip concludes? What do you think?