Igor Shesterkin Explains What Sparked Messy Fight With Brady Tkachuk

Madness broke at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.

Brady Tkachuk bumped into Igor Shesterkin, which caused a massive scrum behind the net.

Shesterkin looked hurt for a second, but then perceived to charge Tkachuk who actually wanted to fight the superstar goalie.

"I just got couple punches from Tkachuk,” Shesterkin said. “To be honest, this was hit on me. Not really enjoy that, because I was between the pipe and him. I didn't want to jump there, but I saw he get on a fight between our guy and their guy, so I just tried to hold him, but he wanted to fight. It's tough for me because I cannot drop my gloves. If I do that, I will go to locker room."

Matt Rempe was on the ice and tried to go after Tkachuk the second that Shesterkin got involved in the action.

“A little nervous cause I don’t want anything to happen to him, but I love it. Just cause he’s a competitor. Just want to make sure I get in there and nothing happens. It was awesome, Igor’s the man.”

Peter Laviolette found the whole incident to be amusing as he had a smile on his face when talking about it following New York’s 5-0 win.

“It’s hockey man,” Laviolette said about Shesterkin charging Tkachuk. “There is always stuff that goes on around the crease. Goalies don’t usually get into it, but obviously he was offended.”

Shesterkin is a quiet guy, but he plays the game with a ton of passion and flash.

The 29-year-old is quietly competitive. If you upset Shesterkin though, he’s going to respond, and respond right to your face. That’s exactly what he did to Tkachuk.