TARRYTOWN – A smiling Matt Rempe walked into the Rangers’ locker room at the MSG Training Center following Thursday’s optional practice, looked around at the horde of reporters and simply said: “That was a banger.”
He was, of course, describing the line brawl that broke out between the Blueshirts and Devils as soon as the puck dropped in Wednesday’s 4-3 win at Madison Square Garden.
The way an animated Rempe told the story, dropping the gloves to squash the beef between he and New Jersey enforcer Kurtis MacDermid came as no surprise. But the way it played out, with four other fights erupting simultaneously, had the 6-foot-8 rookie grinning from ear to ear.
“Those guys are my brothers,” he said. “That wasn’t planned or anything. It just kind of happened naturally. I think that was really special that they did that, as well. I knew that I was going to have to fight. It’s not a big deal − answer the bell type of thing. It happens, but for them to go to war with me was pretty dang special. … I love all those guys.”
It turned into a galvanizing moment for the playoff-bound Rangers.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a team-building exercise,” said captain Jacob Trouba, who was among the five Rangers’ fighters and one of four who was then tossed from the game. “We’re all in this thing together. He’s not left out there on his own. We’re all with him, every step of the way.”
Alexis Lafrenière:Inside a breakout season that has been years in the making
‘It was wicked’
The Rempe-MacDermid throwdown had been brewing for weeks.
MacDermid wasn’t even with the Devils when Rempe laid out Nathan Bastian and drew blood in the Rangers’ 5-1 win in Newark on Feb. 22, but still took it upon himself to repeatedly challenge the 21-year-old during the next meeting between the two rivals on Mar. 11. Rempe didn’t take the bait, but was later assessed a game-misconduct penalty for elbowing and concussing Jersey defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler.
That resulted in a four-game suspension, with MacDermid calling him out publicly after the game for not honoring “the code.”
“Me personally, I don’t think he had to fight after the first hit (on Bastian),” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He had a clean hit on somebody. It got charged in the game, but then the league came back and said there’s really nothing here – just a big man hitting hard. Then the second game happened.”
Rempe has apologized for the hit that injured Siegenthaler and referred to it as “an accident. He also said he had no problem with MacDermid standing up for his teammate and anticipated settling it once and for all Wednesday.
When the starting lineups were announced, with both Laviolette and Devils coach Travis Green opting to send out their fourth lines, he knew it was on.
“MacDermid was like, ‘We’re going right now,'” Rempe recalled as they lined up for the opening faceoff. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. I think there’s a reason why we’re starting.’ … It was wicked.”
As the two hulking brawlers squared up with one another, the other Rangers on the ice − Trouba, Barclay Goodrow, K’Andre Miller and Jimmy Vesey − spontaneously found their own dancing partners.
For various reasons, those fights ended rather quickly. But the heavyweight bout between Rempe and MacDermid went on for nearly a minute and a half.
“That was a long fight,” said Rempe, who called MacDermid “the biggest and strongest” opponent he’s faced yet. “He’s a real tough customer. That guy is a big boy. Strong, been one of the toughest guys in the league for a long time, and he has his job to do. You gotta respect that.”
‘He found out’
Once the dust settled, all 10 skaters − which included Kevin Bahl, Curtis Lazar, John Marino, Chris Tierney for the Devils − headed to the penalty box to serve what they figured would be five-minute majors.
To their surprise, they soon found out about the NHL rule that states “a game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player who is assessed a major penalty for fighting after the original altercation.”
It was determined that Vesey and Lazar were the first to engage, which meant the other eight players who fought were all getting ejected.
“I thought I was going to have a good five minutes in (the penalty box) with the fellas,” Rempe said. “We were going to be cuddled up in there, getting cozy and having a good time. But then we go in there, and they’re like, ‘You’re gone.’ I was like, ‘You’re kidding me?’ I had no idea that was a rule. I was like, ‘Dang it. My (time on ice) didn’t go up that game.’ “
Rempe, Goodrow, Miller and Trouba retreated to the locker room for the remainder of the game, where they got a workout in and were entertained by the amped-up rookie.
“I was jumping around, running around, doing flips,” Rempe said with another big smile. “You’re seeing all the comments on social media. They were funny. I was reading them out loud to the fellas, and they were laughing. It was cool.”
Upon watching the replay, Rempe said he came away most impressed with Miller, who had his way with Marino in his first career fight.
They were among the last players to engage, with Miller coolly describing how it went down.
“I was watching the fireworks go off, and all of a sudden I saw one of their guys come over to our side of the ice,” he said. “He looked at me, kind gave me a nod, and I was like, ‘Eh, why not?’ I thought it was going to be a bad idea. I guess he found out.”
Living his best life
The locker room was still buzzing about the entire event the next day, with Rempe the most jazzed of them all.
“He’s living his best life right now,” Laviolette said with a grin of his own.
The Calgary native has brought refreshing enthusiasm and candor since his memorable debut in the NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. He’s having a blast, but with just six games remaining in the regular season, he’s also itching for a chance to solidify his place in the lineup.
Laviolette indicated he’ll have opportunities to do just that in these final weeks, adding undeniable entertainment value and intrigue for the home stretch.
“I want to show to the coaching staff that I can be a really effective player in playoffs,” said Rempe, who’s appeared in 14 games so far but has only accumulated 76 minutes of total ice time. “I’ve just got to keep working every day. When I was out of the lineup, I’m working with the coaches on everything and just trying to try to get better.
“I want to be a good player. I don’t want to just be known as a guy who just fights. I want to be known as a guy who’s tough, but I want to be known as a guy who, ‘Wow, this guy is a very effective bottom-six forward who can skate, be really good checker, can be physical, be good defensively, maybe eventually be a penalty killer one day.’ That’s what I want to be.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
First appeared on www.lohud.com