New York Rangers injury update: Matt Rempe back at practice, Mika Zibanejad out sick

Could Matt Rempe return to the New York Rangers lineup in time for their crucial showdown against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon?

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette wouldn’t say Friday, but the towering forward wore a regular jersey at practice and delivered some big hits during drills. He also rotated in on the fourth line with Chris Kreider, Sam Carrick and Brett Berard during line rushes.

“He’s progressing,” Laviolette said. “It’s great to see him out there in regular color (jersey) and bang. He’s certainly working his way back. It’s nice to see that.”

Rempe’s missed three games after he sustained an upper-body injury during a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on March 25. The injury may have occurred during his fight with Kings forward Tanner Jeannot, though that’s speculation since the Rangers have not said.

The 22-year-old had played 31 of 32 games prior to this injury absence after he returned from an eight-game suspension for boarding Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars. In 36 games this season, Rempe has five points (two goals, three assists) and 63 penalty minutes.

Rempe has become an effective fourth-line staple for the Rangers, cutting down on bad penalties and unnecessary fights. He remains a physical force but in a more controlled manner.

As a rookie last season, Rempe totaled 71 penalty minutes in 17 games. The popular 6-foot-9 forward gained instant notoriety when he fought Islanders heavyweight Matt Martin outdoors at the Stadium Series in front of 90,000 fans on his first shift in the NHL.

He has quite the history already with the Devils. Rempe rang up 47 penalty minutes in just three games against the Devils last season, ejected from two of those games. He also received a five-game suspension for elbowing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler and was part of a game-opening line brawl against them a year ago on April 3, 2024.

Rempe played in one of New York’s previous three games this season against New Jersey, when he logged 7:47 in the Rangers’ 3-2 overtime win at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 9. He was playing for Hartford in the American Hockey League when the Rangers lost a pair of stinkers to the Devils in December — 5-1 at MSG on Dec. 2 and 5-0 at Prudential Center three weeks later.

Mika Zibanejad misses Rangers practice due to illness

Mika Zibanejad didn’t practice Friday because he was sick. The durable 31-year-old has played all 75 Rangers games this season and missed only two games the past four seasons.

“I can’t say for certain,” Laviolette said about Zibanejad’s availability to play against the Devils.

After a nice six-week run coinciding with J.T. Miller’s arrival in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31, Zibanejad’s production has dried up recently. He has two points (one goal, one assist) in his past eight games with the Rangers’ playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

The Rangers (36-31-7) are ninth in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card. They’re 2-0-1 in their past three games and seek their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 14-19 when the face-off with the Devils.

New York plays four games next week and two — against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers — the following week to close out the regular season.

A strong finish by Zibanejad would go a long way for the Rangers. Two years removed from a 39-goal, 91-point campaign, Zibanejad is fourth on the Rangers with 51 points and tied for fifth with 16 goals this season.

In his absence Friday, Juuso Parssinen took Zibanejad’s spot on the third line, centering for Will Cuylle and Jonny Brodzinski. On the power play, Brennan Othmann replaced Zibanejad practicing on the top unit.