It might've seemed silly, but the brawl that ended the Detroit Red Wings' win over the New York Rangers on Sunday night was a perfect representation of what makes hockey great. The Red Wings' Mason Appleton shot the puck in the empty net a half-second after the final buzzer ended, which prompted Rangers' goaltender Jonathan Quick to come off the bench and incite a bench-clearing brawl. While the fight didn't escalate as violently as it could've, it still provided fans with some stunning visuals.
The beautiful game pic.twitter.com/wXzWT3NspR
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 17, 2025
Most were wondering what Quick was thinking in the moment as he incited the brawl. It seemed like the players on the ice didn't care about Appleton's shot until the goaltender came flying off the bench, and some thought it might have something to do with his teammates ruining his superb performance by scoring only one goal. Quick commented on the incident to Daily Faceoff's Jonny Lazerus and the rest of the assembled media after the game, and denied it was out of frustration with the game's result.
“You guys saw it. The horn goes, a couple of seconds, and he shoots like that. I don't know why they're surprised. It's usually the response when something like that happens. Boys jumped in, did the right thing,” Jonathan Quick explained. “It's a completely seperate issue from the 60 minutes that took place.”
The Rangers have been in the middle of a poor start to the season, especially at Madison Square Garden, but a galvanizing moment like this might be just the thing they need to build some momentum.







