New Jersey Devils-Detroit Red Wings matchup ends in fisticuffs after a chippy game

The New Jersey Devils survived the toughest game of the season. It wasn’t that this game was particularly hard on the schedule, but it showcased the style of hockey that the Devils have struggled with all season. The Red Wings were aggressive, physical, and tenacious. Some might even say they were a little dirty.

The goal was to frustrate the New Jersey Devils. With how things have gone, it’s easy to see why that was the strategy. The Devils are coming off three losses in a row. They’ve looked particularly bad since Jack Hughes’s hand injury, which will keep him out for eight weeks.

Luckily, the Devils got Cody Glass back in the lineup, and they looked completely different. While they still miss Hughes, especially in games like this where his agility could make players miss and cause odd-man rushes, it looked like a completely different team from the previous three games.

The chippiness was nonstop this entire game. It started with an illegal hit by J.T. Compher. He sat for two minutes after crushing Hischier face-first into the boards. 

Right after the hit, with Hischier going down to the tunnel and Devils fans seeing their season go down with him, Stefan Noesen was not letting the hit go without punishment. He called on Compher to fight right after he finished his penalty. 

After initially slipping, Noesen got some real shots in on Compher. The referees gave him an instigator penalty, but nobody was upset with him afterwards. The Devils killed the penalty, and we were off to the races. 

In other situations, this would be the end of it. Not this game. The Red Wings and Devils were playing like cross-town rivals. They, for some reason, hated each other. 

A total of 47 hits were recorded in this game, and none of them were light. Both the Devils and Red Wings were laying the boom on each other. There were multiple hard hits, and some were probably considered borderline. 

Things went too far after a scuffle. With both teams pushing and shoving, things started to calm down. Simon Nemec was just standing there with his hand on someone, and Ben Chiarot hit him with the dirtiest play in hockey, the butt end of the stick. 

The Devils apparently felt the need to get dirty on their own. Jonas Siegenthaler found Lucas Raymond alone on the ice, and he woke him up.

We wouldn't be surprised if Chiarot and Siegenthaler get a call from the league for those two plays. They might even see their wallets getting a little lighter, as we'd be surprised if they didn't get fines or worse for that.

The frustrations hit a fever pitch after the final buzzer sounded. The Red Wings all in during the final two minutes of the game, and they got multiple high-danger chances. Jacob Markstrom was there to stop them. Once the clock hit zero, tensions boiled over.

Nobody is really sure why these two teams brought the heat on a Monday night. Maybe it’s the pressure of the Eastern Conference standings, but we wish we didn’t have to wait until March to see them go at it again.