Popular Rangers forward leaves game against Sharks after 1st period fight
Matt Rempe left the the New York Rangers’ game against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden after a rousing first-period fight against Ryan Reaves. The Rangers announced at the start of the second period that the popular forward would not return to the game due to an upper-body injury.
Rempe was on the receiving end of several punches to his face and head during the spirited exchange of blows with Reaves just 5:55 into the opening period. Reaves knocked Rempe to the ice with one big right hand, but the rugged 23-year-old got right back up. The combatants finally were separated by the linesmen, with Rempe still punching Reaves on top of the head.
There’s a good chance that Rempe took this fight to help wake up his Rangers teammates and the crowd at MSG. The Rangers got off to a brutal start, allowing the winless Sharks to score less than two minutes into the game.
If so, that strategy didn’t exactly work out right away. The Sharks scored a power-play goal shortly after the fight and carried a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. The Rangers ended up losing 6-5 in overtime and remain winless (0-4-1) on home ice this season.
Rempe and Reaves have plenty of respect for one another. They also fought two seasons ago when the veteran enforcer played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. This time they exchanged smiles as they skated to their respective penalty box.
However, Rempe soon exited the penalty box before his five-minute major was over and skated to the Rangers dressing room. He didn’t play another shift.
After the game, coach Mike Sullivan didn’t have an update on Rempe, stating only that he was being evaluated by medical personnel.
Rempe’s played all nine games this season, and this was his first fight since March 25 of last season. In fact, he had only one minor penalty heading into action Thursday. That’s a far cry from his rookie season in 2023-24, when Rempe debuted in the NHL, took on all comers, and racked up 71 penalty minutes in 17 games.
He also served two suspensions, including one for eight games last season when he boarded and elbowed Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
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