Igor Shesterkin, Jacob Markstrom Engage in Third Goalie Fight of Season

Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils went at it in the final frame of the Rangers' 4-1 win on March 31 at Madison Square Garden.

Since Jan., 2026, this latest bout between Shesterkin and Markstrom marked the third goalie fight in three months for the NHL. Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning previously threw down at the pirate-themed 2026 NHL Stadium Series. Just two weeks prior to that, San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky also dropped the gloves.

Back to the game at hand, Shesterkin took Markstrom down after feeding him with a series of solid right-handed punches.

WE GOT ANOTHER GOALIE FIGHT THIS TIME SHESTERKIN VS MARKSTROM 😳🥊 pic.twitter.com/CqkWXkVPpy
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 1, 2026

The tension started when New Jersey forward Paul Cotter made contact with Shesterkin, driving to the net. Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov then immediately shoved Cotter as a result against the glass. Shesterkin went on to leave his crease to give Cotter a shove. Markström skated down the ice pushing Cotter — likely in response to the shoving of Cotter.

General consensus surrounds Shesterkin (known by the Blueshirt faithful as "Shesty") as winning the fight.

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan agreed.

“What a great fight,” Sullivan said postgame, per Peter Baugh of The Athletic. “I didn’t know Shesty had that in him.”

Jacob Markstrom Sees First Career NHL Goalie Fight

The MSG crowd went wild as soon as the goalies began going at it and were chanting Shesterkin’s name following the fight. The crowd also erupted when the public address announcer read "Shesty's" name when going over the resulting penalty minutes.

THAT'S our goalie 🥹 pic.twitter.com/4X1XQJz4ol
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 1, 2026

Shesterkin made 22 saves in net; Markstrom finished the night with 18 saves in the loss for New Jersey.

Markstrom previously dropped the gloves while with the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Utica Comets in 2015. It marked Shesterkin's first fight in his professional hockey career.

Via team reporter Amanda Stein, Markstrom said he engaged with Shesterkin to try and get the Devils going after letting in four goals.

“I felt like I needed to do something. Obviously, it’s frustrating letting in four goals, and then you stand back there, and you want to hit someone, you want to get involved," Markstrom said postgame to the media. "We’re down 4-1, I just tried to get a spark and do something.”

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom — Mar 31, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) and New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) fight in the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Markstrom shares the current Devils goaltending duo with fellow netminder Jake Allen.

The previously mentioned fight between Nedeljkovic and Bobrovsky marked the first time in six years a coveted "goalie fight" occurred in the NHL. Prior to that, the last time a goalie fight in the league took place was on Feb. 1, 2020 between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. The ongoing total of now-three goalie fights for the 2025-26 season indicates more spirited personalities between the pipes across the league.

For the Rangers and the Devils, things have always been spirited — to say the least.

The Hudson River Rivalry is known as one of the league's toughest and most famous rivalries. The March 31 win for the Rangers and winning fight for Shesterkin avoided the sweep for the season series; the Devils had won the previous two meetings by identical 6-3 final scores.

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