Is Rangers' Matt Rempe on the outside looking in?

GREENBURGH – The calculation is based on both personnel and math.

There are four players competing for the three spots on the Rangers’ fourth line.

It is a problem that Peter Laviolette fully acknowledges.

“Decisions are going to have to be made. We have extra players,” Laviolette said Friday.

To be clear, the “decisions” will be fluid, not static, and they began Wednesday when Laviolette chose to dress Jonny Brodzinski, Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom for the 6-0 season-opening win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Following the morning skate, Laviolette said having Carrick, Edstrom, Brodzinski and Matt Rempe on the roster could afford him the flexibility to mix-and-match the line based on who the opponent was. Laviolette also stressed that in this instance the decision to make Rempe a healthy scratch against the Penguins was not a reflection on how he had performed during training camp and preseason.

“There’s always guys that aren’t playing that want to play [and] that could play,” Laviolette said in Pittsburgh. “Just because somebody’s not playing doesn’t mean that they had a bad camp. Just this is the lineup we’re going with today.”

Ah, but what about tomorrow?

The decision to set the lineup for Saturday’s home opener against the Utah Hockey Club is one that still needs to be made. And it is certainly possible that Rempe could find himself among the 20 players on the game day roster since he skated with Carrick and Edstrom during the 55-minute practice at the MSG Training Center while Brodzinski rotated in.

“It’s exciting, for sure,” Rempe said, when asked about the possibility of dressing either Saturday night or Monday night at the Garden against the Red Wings. “Definitely exciting.”

And not solely because it will be his first home opener as a NHLer. It will be another opportunity for the mutual admiration society between Rempe and the 18,006 who fill the Garden to take place since the Calgary native became an almost instantaneous fan favorite after being called up in February.

“He brings energy,” Laviolette said. “He brings it inside the room. He brings it in practice. He plays hard all the time. You definitely feel that at Madison Square Garden at times as well.”

It is an argument in Rempe’s favor. But the performance of the Brodzinski, Carrick and Edstrom triumvirate against the Penguins could potentially factor into Laviolette’s decision-making.

Carrick scored 2:24 into the game and Brodzinski was credited with a secondary assist on the play. According to data culled by NaturalStatTrick.com, the line received 8:26 of ice time at five-on-five.

“Small sample size [so] I don’t want to look too much into it but it was a good start,” Carrick said. “Something to build on.”

Which is a justification for not making a change just for the sake of making a change.

But there will be changes in the foreseeable future. Left wing Jimmy Vesey was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve Monday with a lower-body injury. Based on the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, Vesey will have to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, which would make him next available for the Nov. 3 matinee against the Islanders at the Garden.