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Watch: Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey drops the gloves with Canes’ Jesper Kotkaniemi in all-out knucklefight
Tonight’s Game 3 between the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes featured fireworks as two unlikely combatants traded punches: Jimmy Vesey and Jesper Kotkaniemi.
Not exactly known as pugilists, Vesey and Kotkaniemi dropped the gloves and went into an all-out street brawl, leading to mayhem on the ice.
The melee took place during the first period, with the Hurricanes leading the Rangers, 1-0. With a little over eight minutes to play in the period, Vesey was attacked by Kotkaniemi, unleashing the brawl involving everyone on the ice.
Kotkaniemi chased Vesey around the ice, corralling him near the Canes’ bench. The officials moved quickly to break up the fight.
Check out the action as it unfolded here:
But what exactly set off such a fierce reaction from Kotkaniemi?
The New York forward landed a sucker punch on Martin Necas, igniting Kotkaniemi’s reaction. Necas collapsed to the ice following the punch, slowly getting to his feet.
A different camera angle captured the moment when the Rangers' Vesey struck Necas:
When the chaos settled down, a total of four penalties were issued as a result of the scrum.
Vesey got the gate for roughing, but not the hit on Necas. Meanwhile, Kotkaniemi got a penalty for roughing. Additionally, Dmitry Orlov was sent to the box for the melee with the Rangers’ forward. Furthermore, Barclay Goodrow got an additional minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Rangers would go on to win the game 3-2 in overtime, with Artemi Panarin scoring the winner. New York now has a commanding 3-0 lead and will look to close out the series on Saturday night.
Could Rangers’ Vesey face disciplinary action?
The NHL has a history of issuing disciplinary action to players who sucker punch unsuspecting rivals. For example, Max Domi was suspended in 2018 for a sucker punch on the Florida Panthers' Aaron Ekblad during a preseason game.
Also, Tyler Bertuzzi suffered a similar fate, getting a two-game suspension in 2018 for a punch on then-Colorado forward Matt Calvert.
Another incident involved the Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin. In 2021, Larkin was suspended one game for punching an unsuspecting Mathieu Joseph, who played for the Tampa Bay Lightning at the time.
It’s worth pointing out that the Department of Player Safety takes these sorts of incidents seriously. The league has tried hard to crack down on dangerous plays in hopes of reducing player injuries.
Could the league suspend or fine Vesey? It’s certainly a possibility.
If the league chooses to look into this issue, Vesey could face a one or two-game suspension as was the face with Domi, Bertuzzi, and Larkin.
In the meantime, Kotkaniemi possibly left Jimmy Vesey some scars he won't likely forget about anytime soon.
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