A New York Rangers fan is facing assault charges after a now-viral video captured him brutally sucker-punching a Tampa Bay Lightning fan following the Rangers' playoff loss Thursday night.
Tampa scored twice in the last five minutes to seal a 3-1 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference final series.
After the game, as fans exited two men apparently got into a verbal dispute. A video posted to Twitter shows what happened next - the Rangers fan wheeled around and delivered a stunning left hook to the Tampa fan's face, flattening him.
The video was seen more than 1.2 million times in 10 hours.
According to the NYPD, a Good Samaritan witnessed the incident and tried to stop the assailant, who then punched him in the face too.
Police and security were able to ultimately locate James Anastasio, 29, of Staten Island while he was still at MSG and arrest him.
Anastasio faces two counts each of assault, disorderly conduct and harassment.
Both of the victims declined medical attention, police said.