Epic goalie fight had Rangers’ Mika Zibanejad grinning ear-to-ear

It has been a disappointing season for both the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, as they are the bottom two teams in the Metropolitan Division. Regardless of the poor play on the ice, fans got treated to a show, as Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom engaged in a goalie fight.

It was the third time this season that two netminders had dropped the gloves and engaged in fisticuffs. After the game, Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers spoke about the fight, according to Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports.

“It was awesome. Obviously, knowing Markstrom a bit (from the Sweden Olympic team), I knew he’s feisty, so when he started skating over, I had a feeling it was gonna happen… It was a lot of fun to watch,” Zibanejad said while smiling the entire time.

Zibanejad knows both players well. He has been teammates with Shesterkin on the Rangers since the netminder joined the club during the 2019-20 season. Meanwhile, Markstrom and Zibanejad have been teammated with Team Sweden, but have not shared the ice on the same team before.

Zibanejad was not the only Rangers player impressed by Shesterkin dropping the mitts, as JT Miller also enjoyed the show.

“It’s just so rare, unexpected,” Miller said. “That was just old-school … I think it was great for our team to see that. To see what a goalie can do – obviously goalies aren’t fighting that often — to see him have him have our back and stick up for himself obviously sends a message that he’s such a leader for us.”

The Rangers would go on to win the game 4-1 over the Devils. Still, as 31-35-9 on the season, the Rangers are the worst team in the Eastern Conference, and the only team in the conference that has been eliminated from playoff contention. They return to the ice on Thursday to face the Montreal Canadiens.

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