Fists Fly in First: Martin Fights MacEwen, Johnston Fights Deslauriers

The topic of discussion throughout the days leading up to the New York Islanders’ rematch with the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night was if the bad blood would carry over. New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert didn’t think so.

However, Ross Johnston was inserted into the lineup for what we believed to be rookie Simon Holmstrom, but a late Josh Bailey injury announcement (day-to-day, upper-body) had both in the lineup.

For those that missed what transpired Satuday night in the New York Islanders’ 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, here’s your recap. After Alexander Romanov laid a hit on Kevin Hayes, Nicolas Deslauriers jumped Romanov, and all hell broke loose:

Here’s What Romanov & Mayfield Had To Say on Saturday’s Scrum With Flyers

During warmups, one could sense that something was brewing as Flyers Zack MacEwen and Deslauriers each went up to Matt Martin, who was stretching at the red line.

And it did not take long for words to turn into action.

Seven seconds into the contest, Martin and MacEwen dropped the gloves. The Brock Nelson line started the game, but once the puck was dropped, Anders Lee quickly skated off for no. 17.

Right after the gloves and sticks were picked up and returned to their owners in the penalty box, Johnston and Deslauriers dropped the gloves immediately on the ensuing face-off.

We got back-to-back fights at the Farg 😳 pic.twitter.com/srAxpq0edZ

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 30, 2022

“You get the sense that after a game like the other night that it’s gonna be a physical one, especially against a team like Philly, who is generally known for that as well,” Martin said postgame. “So it’s all respect, obviously. It’s just part of the job.

The Islanders got sucked into the Flyers gameplan as they did not have a strong showing in the first period, besides executing on a five-on-three.

Following the contest, Lambert said that Johnston was playing regardless of the Bailey injury.

The final score read 3-1, as the Islanders never found their game.