Fan favorite Matt Rempe, called up from Hartford, back in Rangers lineup 

DALLAS — Guess who’s back?

Back again.

Rempe’s back.

Tell a friend.

Matt Rempe is back up with the Rangers, and was back in the lineup Friday as the team closed out its three-game road trip in American Airlines Center with a game against the Dallas Stars. Rempe, the 6-9, 255-pound forward, was called up from AHL Hartford late Wednesday, after forward Kaapo Kakko was traded to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen and a pair of 2025 draft picks.

“He's playing really well down (in Hartford), just being effective at what he's doing,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said when asked why Rempe was called up. “And, you know, for us, it's — I think just a change sometimes is good as well. You know what we're doing needs to change. And so you try different pieces and different elements at different times, and see if that brings anything to the table.’’

Laviolette knows what Rempe brings to the table: He’s a big, aggressive forechecker who hunts pucks and body checks people hard. And in Laviolette’s mind, the Rangers, who had lost 11 of their last 14 games entering Friday, need some more physical play right now. That’s why Rempe, and the newly acquired Borgen — himself a physical player — were in the lineup.

“I do think we need some more size, and a little more speed, little more physicality,’’ Laviolette said. “All those things factor into it.’’

The 22-year-old Rempe became an instant sensation and fan favorite when he came up from Hartford last season and made his NHL debut in the outdoor game against the Islanders at MetLife Stadium in February. He made the team out of training camp this season, but couldn’t establish himself as a regular in the lineup, and eventually was sent to Hartford in November. He came back up for one game, a 5-2 home loss to St. Louis on Nov. 25, and was sent right back down.

But Rempe said he benefited from his time in Hartford.

“I was playing around 18 minutes every night,’’ he said. “Getting to play PK, power play, everything. Going against the other team's top players, and then, like, six-on-five situations, all offensively, everything like that. It's been huge. I just got a lot of puck touches and really feel all situations of the game. And I think that, long term, it's gonna help me a lot. . . . I think it's helped already. My game's been coming on a lot in the last month.’’

Rempe was asked if his time in Hartford, where he had three goals, two assists and 22 penalty minutes in 18 games, was kind of a “reset” for him.

“I wouldn't say like a reset,’’ he said. “I think it's all just development. I’ve got a long journey ahead of me. I've come a long way in a short time, and I think that it's the best thing for me to always just keep developing. . . . My first (two) years in Hartford, I don't think I played over 12 minutes once. I don't think I played a single second of special teams, ever. So I think that, for me to go and suddenly play 18 minutes and be very effective . . . in those minutes, I think it's, it's very beneficial. So I think that means that my game's came a long way.’’

Of course, Rempe is well aware he won’t likely be playing 18 minutes a night with the Rangers. In his four NHL games before Friday, he averaged just 6:26 in time on ice per game, and he knows he’ll most likely be playing a limited role on the fourth line. He’s OK with that, though.

“I think that this is back to more of what I'm used to,’’ he said. “And I think that (with less ice time) you can then . . . have so much energy every shift.

“My first six games in Hartford, I felt like I was ‘dead,’ because I had never played that much before,’’ he continued. “The way I play, I'm up and down the ice, flying, (so) I had to do a lot of extra conditioning.

“So I think that now . . . if, let's say you're playing eight minutes, 10 minutes, you can ‘buzz.’’’

Blue shorts

Artemi Panarin, who missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury, was a game-time decision, Laviolette said. Panarin, who took part in the optional morning skate wearing a regular (full contact) jersey, said he felt “better.’’ . . . Borgen, a righthanded shot, partnered with Braden Schneider, another righthander, on a second defense pair. Urho Vaakanainen and Chad Ruhwedel remained as the third pair, and Zac Jones was scratched . . . Igor Shesterkin got the start in goal.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.