Rangers' Matt Rempe getting a bad rap, and bad penalties, based on his reputation
Rangers center Matt Rempe sets before a face-off against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Matt Rempe has been growing a mustache lately, but it’s light-colored and far from bushy. A person might not notice it if he or she wasn’t really close.
So if the 6-9, 255-pound Rangers forward is growing the mustache in an attempt to disguise himself from NHL referees who clearly are watching him, odds are it’s not going to work.
Rempe’s reputation obviously precedes him. He’s enormous, he’s always looking to make hard hits when he’s on the ice and he’s twice been suspended for illegal hits (plus he escaped suspension for an elbow on Nashville’s Nick Blankenburg in a game earlier this month). So yes, referees definitely are aware when they’re working a game and Rempe is in the lineup.
But if the 22-year-old has to be careful about keeping his elbows down and tucked in when he tries to hit people, then referees ought to be careful to not assume that every time a guy falls down after a collision with Rempe, it was a dirty hit.
In each of the last two games, Rempe had a penalty called on him that, when viewed on replay, clearly should not have been called. In each case, the penalty led to a power-play goal scored against the Rangers.
Against Winnipeg on Tuesday, Rempe was sent off for goaltender interference after Morgan Barron pushed him from behind into goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets ended up scoring the winning goal on the ensuing power play.
Against Minnesota on Thursday, Rempe was penalized for interference when Devin Shore, who’s 6-1, 206, bumped into him, bounced off and fell to the ice. The Wild tied the score with a subsequent power-play goal.
At the Rangers’ optional practice Friday before Saturday’s huge game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Rempe said the referee in the Minnesota game later apologized to him and conceded he shouldn’t have called a penalty.
“The ref came up and apologized in the third [period] to me,’’ Rempe said after Friday’s practice for fourth-liners and extras. “He said it . . . looked bad from his angle but he said that . . . he made a mistake.’’
Rempe accepted the apology and insisted that despite getting penalties called against him, he won’t change the way he tries to play the game.
“I’m still getting lots of hits every game, but I’m making sure they aren’t from behind and my eIbow’s tucked,’’ he said. “I’m making sure on that, just because I know if I [don’t] do that, that’s gonna get me in trouble. But I’m not changing my game. I feel like I’m going to be fast, be physical and go make plays.
“If I start going around and trying to be cautious, that’s not me,’’ he said. “The [last thing] I want to be is like a big teddy bear.’’
Coach Peter Laviolette, who protested both Rempe’s penalties, said “there’s always conversations that go on’’ with the NHL regarding what the Rangers may think are bad calls, particularly against Rempe.
“The game happens fast out there,’’ he said. “But with regard to Matt, we’re just trying to get him the benefit of the doubt once in a while.’’
Notes & quotes: Six skaters and backup goalie Jonathan Quick skated. One of the skaters was defenseman Adam Fox, who has been on the trip and skating with the team in a green non-contact jersey. On Friday he was in a regular full-contact jersey, but he remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. He has missed the last eight games.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
