Matt Rempe to play for Rangers against Blues with Chris Kreider sidelined by upper-body injury
With Chris Kreider sidelined by an upper-body injury, the New York Rangers recalled forward Matt Rempe from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Monday ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden.
Kreider played the first 19 games this season after appearing in all 98 (82 regular season, 16 postseason) last season. Since 2021-22, Kreider’s missed only four games.
The 33-year-old forward logged 16:04 TOI and had five shots on goal in a 6-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. He finished the game and did not show any visible effects from an injury, though he did play more than a minute less than he’s averaged this season (17:22).
Kreider is second on the Rangers with nine goals and three power-play goals. He leads the team with two short-handed goals. Almost incredibly, Kreider doesn’t have a single assist yet this season.
Without Kreider in the lineup, Brett Berard will make his NHL debut and skate on a line with Mika Zibanejad — Kreider’s longtime linemate — and Will Cuylle. Berard was recalled from Hartford on Sunday, where he leads the Wolf Pack with seven goals and 13 points this season.
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Matt Rempe will be in Rangers lineup against Blues
Rempe will be in the lineup Monday. He wasn’t at the morning skate because of his late recall by the Rangers. However, Jonny Brodzinski, who was on the fourth line at the skate, was just a placeholder, per coach Peter Laviolette.
Rempe played three games earlier this season with the Rangers and did not record a point. The 22-year-old got in one fight in his third game against the Washington Capitals, but ended up on the wrong side of things against former Rangers first-round pick Dylan McIlrath.
Coming into this season, Rempe spent a lot of time working on his skating and overall game, with the goal of trying to become a more complete hockey player, rather than a player who is only known for physicality and fighting. In fact, he spent a large portion of the offseason working out with Kreider in Connecticut.
After being a healthy scratch in New York more often than not, it was decided that Rempe was better served playing top minutes in Hartford and playing in all situations to better his development.
Rempe played 10 games with Hartford, scoring two goals with an assist. He’s a minus-7 in the AHL but did earn praise recently from Hartford coach Grant Potulny. Rempe scored Saturday off a neat deflection when screening the goalie in a loss to Springfield.
Rempe will line up with center Sam Carrick and wing Jimmy Vesey against the Blues.
Adam Edstrom moved up to the third line to fill Cuylle’s spot, with Kaapo Kakko shifting to center and Reilly Smith dropping down to play right wing.
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