This Heavyweight Tilt Between Dylan McIlrath and Matt Rempe Was A Work Of Art
Center ice. Their first shift of the night. A couple of guys who will do literally anything their team needs them to do.
This is peak entertainment. This is what sports are all about. It's insane that this is just a random Tuesday night in the National Hockey League. I mean, sure, Rangers vs Capitals is a big rivalry and those games are always pretty intense. But it's not like this game has any major implications outside of the fact that the Capitals have a heavyweight mutant in Dylan McIlrath, the Rangers have a heavyweight mutant in Matt Rempe, and the two teams decided it was time to test out whose mutant could beat up the other. You want some immediate juice injected into a hockey game? Here's one of the best fights you'll see all season just 2 and a half minutes in.
And what a great scrap that lived up to the billing. Both guys get in a couple early shots. They lock in their grips with the left hand, and that's where I think Dylan McIlrath really has a massive advantage over Rempe. Matt Rempe is big and he's menacing and he can throw some heavy rights. But he doesn't have the ability to use his left to really control the fight the same way McIlrath does here. That's where the ragdolling starts. He gets a few good shots in with the left, brings him in close enough to land another right or two, and then eventually gets the takedown. Great tilt from both guys, but a clear win for McIlrath.
Here's what I'll say about some of these heavyweight fights now that they're becoming more frequent in the league again--I feel like you almost have to let these guys take off their helmets before the fight now. If you're going to force everyone to wear a visor, you can't make these guys go out and completely fuck their fists up against a shield of polycarbonate. It's bad enough they have to punch plastic helmets out there, but the shield really makes it seem more dangerous. Speaking of cutting up your fists against helmets...