When the puck dropped to start last night’s Rangers – Devils game, the gloves also dropped as Jersey’s Cam Janssen and Eric Boulton squared off with New York’s Mike Rupp and Brandon Prust. The fight set the tone for the game and inspired the game-winning goal that New Jersey’s David Clarkson would score with eight minutes left. From NHL.com:

“Those two guys aren’t fighting for fun,” Clarkson said. “Boults and Janny did unbelievable jobs. They got our bench going right away. I think that’s one of the hardest jobs in hockey. People always say fighting this and fighting that, but that showed it right there. Those guys weren’t fighting for each other or for themselves. They were fighting for the team and to set a tone.”

The game would go on as Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Brodeur stopped a combined 51 of 52 shots on goal. If it wasn’t for that double fight, who knows if Clarkson would have scored that goal.

[NHL.com]