Devils' Kurtis MacDermid changes his opinion on Matt Rempe following massive Rangers brawl

The rivalry between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils reached a boiling point as Devils' Kurtis MacDermid and Rangers' Matt Rempe traded blows in Wednesday's game.

With tensions running high and past incidents fueling the fire, the game escalated into a full-blown brawl involving several players from both teams. Among the notable confrontations was the intense battle between Devils' Kurtis MacDermid and Rangers' Matt Rempe, a clash that sparked changes in perspective after the dust settled.

In a post-game interview, MacDermid expressed a newfound respect for Rempe:

“I’m always going to have a lot of respect for him, he’s a young kid just trying to do his thing to stay in the league and I understand that. He’s going to learn and he’s a big, tough, strong kid...

"It’s great to see the team bonding that way and just having each other’s backs out there. After a situation like that, the rest of the team accepted a lot of the slack in the minutes and they played hard and had an awesome game tonight. Just didn’t get the two points."

The game, which marked the final regular-season encounter between the two bitter rivals, was highly anticipated due to the previous altercation between them. The stage was set for a heated showdown, and the players engaged in a series of heated exchanges right from the opening faceoff.

The brawl saw multiple players from both teams, including MacDermid, Rempe, Miller, Marino, Trouba, Tierney, Goodrow, Bahl, Vesey, and Lazar, receiving major penalties for fighting.

Roots of Kurtis MacDermid and Matt Rempe fight

The roots of the rivalry between Kurtis MacDermid and Rempe can be traced back to February 22, notably Rempe's hit on Devils' forward Nate Bastian. That event fueled animosity between the players.

MacDermid was not with the Devils back then and was only acquired by them from the Colorado Avalanche on March 1. However, Rempe again knocked down Devils' Jonas Siegenthaler on March 11. That day, MacDermid asked for a fight from Rempe but the latter didn't answer in that game. It finally led to the intense on-ice confrontation witnessed in their latest game.

Previously Kurtis MacDermid told reporters (via Sportsnet):

"There's a right way to go about things and a wrong way. I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight. He's a young kid in this league, he has a lot to learn still. You don't do things like that in your first year in the league."

The Devils fell short in the game with a 4-3 loss to the Rangers, dimming their playoff hopes.