PHILADELPHIA — If there’s a handbook for how role players can endear themselves to New York Rangers fans, there are likely three to-dos on the opening page.
1. Play physical against the New York Islanders
2. Play physical against the New Jersey Devils
3. Play physical against the Philadelphia Flyers
Rookie Matt Rempe has a check mark next to all three. He’s played four NHL games.
“When I get to see some teams that are real close to New York and big rivalries — New York is such a storied franchise — 100 percent you’re going to add that extra element to it,” the 6-foot-8 forward said after scoring the game-winning goal in the Rangers’ 2-1 win against the Flyers, their 10th victory in a row.
The Legend of Rempe started at the Stadium Series last weekend. The 21-year-old became the first player to debut outdoors, then got into a fight with Islanders forward Matt Martin on his first NHL shift. Then came Thursday in New Jersey. He played only 13 seconds before making a dangerous hit on Nathan Bastian and getting ejected. Boos rained down on him as he left the ice, and he defiantly held his hand to his ear as if to say, “I can’t hear you.”
But Saturday’s Flyers game might have topped anything he’s done thus far in his NHL career. It showed why he has the makings of a Rangers cult hero.
On Rempe’s first shift in Philadelphia, he and Nicolas Deslauriers, who has more than 600 games and countless fights of experience, dropped the gloves. The two stared each other down near the blue line and raised their arms. Rempe grabbed his opponent first, and then the two began swinging. Both landed multiple punches, with Rempe’s long reach proving beneficial. Deslauriers isn’t small, but he looked like he was when faced with a giant.
“I might seem tall, but 6-foot is not 6-8 like him,” said the Flyers forward, who ended the scrap with a cut nose.
After 50 seconds, Deslauriers brought Rempe to the ice and the officials split the two up. Both told each other they fought well — “showed some respect,” Rempe said — and the crowd pulsated with applause. On the ESPN telecast, Sean McDonough mused that he doesn’t remember the last time he saw a similar level of fight in an NHL game.
“You don’t see a lot of that, just standing back and throwing like that for just a minute,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
Added Flyers coach John Tortorella: “That’s a good old-fashioned hockey fight.”
Deslauriers said he saw Rempe lurking in warmups, so he “politely” asked the rookie if they were going to fight. Rempe, never one to back down, responded with a “hell yeah.”
“We were throwing bombs,” Rempe said. “It was awesome. Got the juices flowing. It was unreal.”
What an NHL debut week for Matt Rempe:
– Fought Matt Martin in his debut at the Stadium Series
– Ejected for a hit on Nathan Bastian
– Fought Nick Deslauriers pic.twitter.com/S6STmpkwXh— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 24, 2024
Rempe’s teammates have quickly gravitated toward him. Mika Zibanejad gave him an encouraging whack with his stick as he left the penalty box in the first period, and the entire bench pounded their sticks against the boards.
“If something happens, Remps can jump in and kill somebody,” Igor Shesterkin said.
Rempe, who sported a couple bruises from the Deslauriers fight postgame, has played in four games. He has received a fighting or game misconduct penalty in his first shift of three of them. In 15:03 of career ice time, he’s earned 27 penalty minutes.
He also has one goal, which came at a big time for the Rangers. With the score tied 1-1 on Saturday, Braden Schneider fired a shot from the point, and Barclay Goodrow tipped it. Rempe, meanwhile, was camped in front of Philadelphia goaltender Samuel Ersson, just as Laviolette wants his forwards to do. He watched the puck fly through the air, then “felt something hit my shin pad pretty hard,” he said.
That turned out to be the puck. It bounced off Rempe’s leg and snuck through Ersson’s pads. For the first time in his career, Rempe was an NHL goal scorer. He lifted his arms above his head and grinned as Chris Kreider greeted him in celebration.
“Probably the ugliest first goal in NHL history,” he said. “But I’ll take it.”
CONFIRMED – FIRST NHL GOAL FOR REMPS. pic.twitter.com/GPzDYWxcNB
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 24, 2024
So will the Rangers. Behind a masterful Shesterkin performance, they held onto the lead. Rempe’s goal stood as the game-winner.
“He played a heckuva game,” Laviolette said.
Rempe’s long-term role on the Rangers is undetermined. He’s not considered one of the team’s top prospects. If general manager Chris Drury is actively adding forwards at the trade deadline — which is expected — he’ll be a prime candidate to head back to the AHL.
But he’s made a fan of his coach and teammates, and he’s enjoying each chance he gets to take NHL ice.
“You can just tell the players in the locker room just really like having him here,” Laviolette said. “He’s smiling, he loves what he does, and loves to hit and be physical.”
(Photo of Matt Rempe: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
