The New York Rangers will be without their towering forward Matt Rempe for the time being. Ahead of Thursday’s practice in Anaheim, the team announced that Rempe is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Rempe dropped the gloves with Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot at 15:33 of the second period on Tuesday and took only one more shift—a 31-second stint early in the third. At the time, it didn’t seem unusual, as Rangers coach Peter Laviolette frequently shortens his bench in tight games. The Rangers were trailing 2-1 in the third and ultimately fell 3-1.
Rempe wasn’t the only one with limited ice time. Fellow fourth-liners Juuso Parssinen and Nicolas Aube-Kubel also logged just a single shift in the third period.
No major punches were landed during the fight, but Rempe lost his balance and fell awkwardly while tangled up with Jeannot. The Kings forward attempted to pull Rempe back up to continue the bout, but the linesmen quickly intervened to stop the altercation.
It’s possible that Rempe sustained the injury during that sequence.
Sam Carrick rejoined the Rangers on Thursday after staying in New York for the birth of his son. The veteran center, who had played in the first 71 games of the season before missing the loss to L.A., will return to the lineup Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
