The third goalie fight of the 2025-26 NHL season took place on Tuesday night.
In a Metropolitan Division rivalry matchup between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, the team’s two netminders, Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markstrom, squared off in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden.
The bout took place deep in New York’s zone, with Markstrom coming all the way down the ice to challenge Shesterkin.
Shesterkin threw most of the punches in the bout, with Markstrom whiffing on two or three big shots. The Russian goalie also ended up on top with the takedown to end the maskless melee.
The two goalies were both assessed five-minute fighting majors and two-minute minor penalties for leaving their creases. Markstrom’s fury likely stemmed from Shesterkin taking a shot at Devils forward Paul Cotter, who also received a two-minute minor for goaltender interference.
All of the penalties came 9:05 into the third period with the Rangers up 4-1, a lead they would hold for the rest of regulation.
“Yeah, it was first one,” Shesterkin told MSG Network postgame. “I thought it would be against (Ilya) Sorokin, we’ll wait for that.
“I just want to say thanks to my boxing coach. I just have couple lessons, nothing crazy.”
Shesterkin was named First Star for his performance, which also included 22 saves. He is 24-16-6 this season with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage, and one shutout.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the fight was the first involving a Rangers goalie since Dan Cloutier fought Islanders backstop Tommy Salo on April 4, 1998. The Devils had not had a goalie fight since Corey Schwab fought Islanders goalie Tommy Soderstrom on December 9, 1995.
Prior to this season, there were zero goalie fights in the NHL since February 2020. This year, Shesterkin and Markstrom follow Andrei Vasilevskiy vs. Jeremy Swayman at a Stadium Series outdoor game in February and Sergei Bobrovsky vs. Alex Nedeljkovic in January.
