On Wednesday, May 5th, 2021, there were six separate fights in the opening period of the New York Rangers versus the Washington Capitals game at Madison Square Garden.

After the game on May 2nd, there was bad blood between the two teams. This caused the multiple fights that occured. 

The NHL fined Tom Wilson, who is a Capitals player. He caused a fight and attacked  a star player on Monday. Wilson was fined $5,000,which made the Rangers team and fans infuriated. According to the Rangers coach, David Quinn, there were lines that were crossed by Wilson that should not have been. He states, “You got one of the star players in this league now that could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident. You all saw what happened, and it happens time and time again with him. Totally unnecessary.”

Once the puck hit the ice, not one, but three, fights broke out. When Wilson hit the ice, a rangers player almost immediately attacked him. 

Only in the first period, 20 penalties were given out and even ten within the first minute of the game. 100 out of the 141 penalty minutes were in the first period alone. 

Ryan Strome, a Rangers player told the media after the game, “I definitely think we felt the need to take matters into our own hands a bit.” He continued by adding that they got their frustration out in the beginning of the game and then they played on.

T.J Oshie, a player for the Capitals, scored a hattrick as his team honored his father who had passed. Without Oshie’s hattrick, their win could have been in jeopardy. Oshie was not involved in the game that occurred on Monday where Wilson caused a major fight. He mentioned it was for personal reasons and it was later revealed that it was because of his father’s death.

Even with all the fighting and bad blood between the two teams, the Capitals came out on top ending with a score of 4-2. This rivalry will most likely be an ongoing battle between the two teams and will undoubtedly continue on for years to come.