MONTREAL — Matt Rempe is within the midst of his first prolonged look of the season, skating in his sixth straight recreation within the Rangers’ 5-4 additional time loss to the Canadiens on Sunday night time at Bell Middle.
After serving an eight-game suspension for boarding and elbowing Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20, the 6-foot-8 ½ ahead has performed a simple and easy recreation beneath extraordinarily restricted minutes.
Head coach Peter Laviolette capped Rempe at 5:33 TOI in opposition to the Utah Hockey Membership on Thursday and 5:51 in opposition to the Blue Jackets at Madison Sq. Backyard on Saturday earlier than deploying the Rangers rookie for 7:18 Sunday night time.
That included zero shifts within the third interval in Utah, only one in opposition to Columbus after which 4 at Bell Middle.
The 22-year-old hadn’t dedicated a single infraction within the earlier 5 video games, however Rempe was known as for roughing and dropping the gloves with Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj.
It’s clear Rempe continues to be incomes the belief of the teaching employees.
“I think he’s done a good job,” Laviolette mentioned earlier than the sport. “He gets in on the forecheck, responsible defensively. Some of the decisions I make are based more on the game and what we need to do to win and score goals. I make some changes on the bench, but that’s more about me and not about him and his game. I think he’s come back and given us positive minutes and positive energy on the ice.”
Rempe spent virtually all of November and the primary half of December in Hartford, the place there was an adjustment interval whereas he started his expanded position with the Wolf Pack.
After going with no single level and ending a mixed minus-five by way of the primary six video games of his AHL season, Rempe mentioned he needed to up his conditioning as a result of he wasn’t used to the quantity of ice time he was receiving.
Averaging round 18 minutes an evening, Rempe felt his recreation had come a good distance in his final month with the Wolf Pack.
Rempe anticipated his ice time to be extra what he’s used to when he bought again to the NHL stage, and it actually has been.
This enables him to have a lot extra vitality per shift, he mentioned when he first got here again up, which was what he struggled with most early on in Hartford this season.
“Winning comes first, period,” Laviolette mentioned of how he balances doing what he thinks he must do to win with conserving Rempe concerned for his improvement. “We do what we need to do in order to be successful. It’s just the way the last couple games have played out. We’re chasing games or we need to score. There’s guys that are 80-, 100-point guys on the bench. Working to get him out there.”
Constructing a 2-1 lead by the primary intermission, the Rangers had the benefit regardless of posting simply 5 photographs on aim by way of the opening 20 minutes Sunday night time.
Hometown child Alexis Lafreniere struck first for the Rangers, taking an extended shot from Ok’Andre Miller — which ricochetted off the wall and over the Canadiens’ web — and placing it previous Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes (23 saves).
Brendan Gallagher later bought a stick on a Christian Dvorak shot to even the rating up.
It took all of 46 seconds for the Blueshirts to regain the lead, nonetheless, when Will Cuylle settled a free puck from Mika Zibanejad’s forechecking and whipped it in glove facet.
The Rangers are anticipated to be off Monday earlier than they return to recreation motion in opposition to the Senators on Tuesday at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Tuesday will mark the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Blueshirts.
