It’s been a rollercoaster of an NHL career already for New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe, albeit a short one, just 29 regular-season games over the past two seasons. That being said, things are trending in the right direction for the towering 6-foot-9 forward, who just potted his first goal of the season in New York’s 5-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
After spending most of the season in the press box and in the minors, and following an illegal hit that landed him an eight-game NHL suspension, Rempe seems to have settled his game down a bit, in a good way. He’s clearly set his sights more so on playing the game, rather than always looking for a bone-crushing hit. It paid off Tuesday, when Rempe scored a pretty goal off the rush to make it 3-0 at 3:34 of the third period.
“It was awesome, it was a lot of fun,” Rempe said postgame. “It was pretty exciting, me and [Adam Edstrom], one of my best buddies to connect like that. I think we’ve been playing really well together and I think we just keep it going.”
Rempe had a career-high four shots on goal against the Senators, and earned 9:12 of ice time, his second-most this season. Now that he’s settling in to a regular role on the Rangers fourth line, his game is starting to come around. He’s also earning the trust of coach Peter Laviolette, who’s been cautious with Rempe’s ice time, especially late in close games.
“It was good,” said Laviolette of Rempe’s goal. “It was a great play by [Edstrom] to put it to space and kind of out-skate somebody. He had the long reach and bumped it to the middle. When you’re coming in on a goalie like that, things happen quick. I thought [Rempe] had to show real good poise when he got in tight. I thought he made a really nice play.”
Matt Rempe earning minutes, making plays on Rangers fourth line
It hasn’t been the easiest road for Rempe when it comes to staying in the lineup at the NHL level. At the time of his last suspension, he had played just 22 NHL games (five this season). In that span, he had four game ejections, and two suspensions. At that rate, it was nearly impossible to remain in the NHL, which is, in part, why he spent so much time playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League earlier this season.
Since returning from the most recent suspension, however, the 22-year-old has slowly built trust on the team, and made a positive impact in games. Since his return, the Rangers have a 5-0-2 record. They’re also 7-1-3 since the turn of the New Year and are on a season-long nine-game point streak (6-0-3).
While the deployment of Rempe is hotly debated between those that love him and others who don’t value him as highly, there’s no denying the fact that the Rangers are better with him than without him. They hold a 22-4-5 record all-time when Rempe is in the lineup. At some point, that goes beyond coincidence.
“I think I can bring lots of physicality, but I think I can make plays with the puck and use my body and speed, be good defensively,” Rempe stated. “I’ve been working a lot on my plays with the puck. I think the more comfortable I get, the more I can continue to make plays, take a breath out there, try to find the next pass and continue O-zone sequences. I think I can do that.”
Not only has Rempe returned to the lineup focused on playing a less reckless game, but the fourth line as a whole has been very effective. Edstrom, who’s been a lineup regular all season, has two goals and two assists in the month of January, which matches the amount of points he scored all season prior to the New Year.
Sam Carrick has also been one of the Rangers most effective forwards as of late, with three goals and four assists in the month of January. He had one goal and six assists in the three months prior.
“We all play a physical game,” Rempe explained. “We’re hard to play against, D-men turn pucks over, we’re in the O-zone a lot, and we’re also good defensively. We’re all big guys that just go up and down the ice well. I think we can be really hard to play against. Just a lot of fun playing with them.”
As the Rangers continue to push back into a playoff spot, it looks like Rempe will be here to stay, especially if he can put together performances like he did on Tuesday night. It was easily his most effective game of the season, if not of his career. He’ll look to do more of that when the Rangers host another big game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday at MSG.
“I think the more you make plays, the more minutes you’re going to get,” Rempe said. “I just want to continue to work on my game. I think that it’s coming along nicely, I just want to keep doing that.”
