The New York Rangers had barely finished celebrating an early goal Sunday when a scrum broke out at center ice, with Marcus Pettersson right in the middle of it.
Gino Hard noted the puck couldn't even be dropped after the goal before things boiled over against Utah.
The graphic showed the Rangers up 1-0 with 2:42 on the first-period clock.
Shots were even at 5-5 at that point, so nobody was running away with anything.
In the clip, a knot of blue and white sweaters spins over the center-ice logo while two linesmen dig in and two referees hover nearby.
Love it. Early-season games don't usually carry this much edge, and the crowd at Madison Square Garden got its money's worth early.
It's the family dinner that gets heated before anyone has even passed the potatoes.
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Rangers and Utah descend into chaos before the puck can even drop again
Utah came in having beaten Chicago 6-0 and Columbus 4-1, so Bill Armstrong's roster had outscored opponents 10-1.
That Columbus win came on a night when Matthew Knies was making noise for the Blue Jackets, with Spittin' Chiclets crediting him with four points in his first two games.
Did someone take exception to the celebration? The clip doesn't show what started it.
Pettersson, in No. 26, is 30 and carries a $5,500,000 cap hit. He came in at +2 without a point through three games.
The Rangers came in 2-1-0, including Igor Shesterkin's goalie goal in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay and Dylan Garand's 2-0 shutout in Detroit.
Joonas Korpisalo remains on injured reserve, expected out until at least October 9.
Rookie Alberts Smits already brought plenty of edge against Tampa Bay earlier this week, so this group doesn't seem to mind a little heat.
The Rangers host the Islanders on Tuesday, while Utah visits New Jersey the same night to keep its road trip going.
There's a lot of hockey left after a start like that. If the opening minutes are any guide, the officials won't be getting much rest tonight.
Did the Rangers send a message to Utah with that center-ice scrum?
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