The 6-foot-7, 241-pound rookie became an instant fan favorite when he made his NHL debut in February. He fought five times down the stretch of the regular season, including on the first shift of his first game, and had five games in which his penalty minutes exceeded his ice time. Even a four-game suspension for [elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler](https://www.nhl.com/news/rangers-rempe-suspended-four-games-for-elbowing-devils-siegenthaler) didn’t slow Rempe.
The rate at which Rempe engaged in fisticuffs eased in the final games of the regular season, but the Capitals were aware, heading into their first-round series against the Rangers, of Rempe’s reputation.
“We talked about their personnel,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said when asked about Rempe on Saturday. “Guys are pretty aware of their team [and] individual tendencies.”
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NEWARK — After scoring the first goal of the [New York Rangers’ first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Washington Capitals](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/20/rangers-capitals-what-to-watch-stanley-cup-playoffs/?itid=ap_baileyjohnson&itid=lk_inline_manual_2) — and just his second goal in the NHL — Rangers forward Matt Rempe [proclaimed](https://twitter.com/MollieeWalkerr/status/1782171818041733237) that he is “built for the playoffs.”
The 6-foot-7, 241-pound rookie became an instant fan favorite when he made his NHL debut in February. He fought five times down the stretch of the regular season, including on the first shift of his first game, and had five games in which his penalty minutes exceeded his ice time. Even a four-game suspension for [elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler](https://www.nhl.com/news/rangers-rempe-suspended-four-games-for-elbowing-devils-siegenthaler) didn’t slow Rempe.
The next time the Rangers and Devils played, Rempe and Kurtis MacDermid dropped the gloves off the opening draw — sparking [a line brawl that led to eight ejections](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/03/rangers-devils-brawl/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) just two seconds into the game.
The rate at which Rempe engaged in fisticuffs eased in the final games of the regular season, but the Capitals were aware, heading into their first-round series against the Rangers, of Rempe’s reputation.
“We talked about their personnel,” Washington Coach Spencer Carbery said when asked about Rempe on Saturday. “Guys are pretty aware of their team [and] individual tendencies.”
The trick for the Capitals — [who dropped Sunday’s series opener in New York](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/21/rangers-capitals-stanley-cup-playoffs-game-1/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11) and are set to meet the Rangers again for Game 2 on Tuesday night — is to find the balance between establishing their own physicality and playing into what the Rangers want, which is for the threat of Rempe’s physical ability to push Washington into reckless decisions.
Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/23/matt-rempe-rangers-capitals/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/23/matt-rempe-rangers-capitals/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)