Everyone knew it would come to this.
On a very hard day for the New York Rangers and their fans, the Rangers came out and took it to the Washington Capitals from the opening drop of the puck, with three simultaneous fights, reminiscent of the Hanson Brothers from the movie "Slapshot."
Two more fights took place after the opening melee, including Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith taking on the instigator and villain of Tuesday night's matchup, Tom Wilson.
The third fight of the night featured Rangers forward Ryan Strome battling Caps center Lars Eller.
Things settled down after that match.
Earlier in the day, the Rangers fired their team president, John Davidson and general manager, Jeff Gorton, elevating former Ranger Chris Drury to both posts. The reason behind the move was unclear, as team owner James Dolan once again makes a splash at the end of a season to take some of the heat off the news regarding Wilson and the Rangers' statement that NHL head of player safety George Parros is unfit for his role.
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