New York Rangers injury update: Matt Rempe week to week with upper-body issue
The New York Rangers will be without towering forward Matt Rempe for the immediate future. It was announced prior to practice in Anaheim on Thursday that Rempe is week to week with an upper-body injury.
Rempe got into a fight with Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot at 15:33 of the second period Tuesday and played only one more shift the rest of the game, a 31-second shift early in the third period. That didn’t stand out at the time because Rangers coach Peter Laviolette often shortens his bench in close games, and the Rangers were trailing 2-1 in the third period, en route to a 3-1 loss.
And it wasn’t as if Rempe was singled out. Fellow fourth-liners Juuso Parssinen and Nicolas Aube-Kubel each played only one shift in the third period, as well.
There weren’t any big punches landed in the fight. However, Rempe did lose his balance and fell somewhat awkwardly to the ice while still tangled up with Jeannot. The Kings forward then pulled Rempe up to continue fighting, but the linesmen stepped in to end the altercation.
It’s possible that somewhere in there, Rempe sustained an injury.
Sam Carrick returned to the Rangers on Thursday after missing the start of the road trip to remain in New York for the birth of his son. The veteran center, who played in each of the first 71 games this season before missing the loss in L.A., will be back in the lineup Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
That leaves Laviolette to choose between two of the following to play alongside Carrick on the fourth line with Rempe out: Brett Berard, Parssinen and Aube-Kubel. Berard was a healthy scratch Tuesday.
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Matt Rempe had played 31 of past 32 games for Rangers before injury
Since returning Jan. 9 from an eight-game suspension for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, Rempe has been a regular in the Rangers lineup, playing 31 of the past 32 games. He’s done a better job of avoiding penalties and being a force on the forecheck.
In 36 games, Rempe has five points (two goals, three assists) and 63 penalty minutes. Keep in mind, he had 71 penalty minutes in 17 games last season.
Laviolette still doesn’t completely trust Rempe, though. The 22-year-old averages 7:59 TOI per game, which is more than two minutes more than last season, but still not a lot, even for a fourth-liner. He’s topped 10 minutes of ice time on six occasions this season.
The Rangers (34-32-6) are ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card, pending Montreal’s game Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. New York plays back-to-back games this weekend, Friday at Anaheim and Saturday in San Jose against the Sharks.
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