Picture this: Matt Rempe puts the puck on his stick while skating at full speed toward Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg.
Teammate Adam Edstrom passed the puck off the wall before throwing it to Rempe in the middle down Broadway into a rumbling Madison Square Garden.
For a moment, time slowed as the 6-foot-8½ forward funneled the puck to his backhand before unhesitatingly burying a three-goal lead en route to the Rangers’ 5-0 loss to the Senators Tuesday evening.
“It’s pretty exciting, me and Eddy – one of my best friends – connecting like this,” Rempe said. “I think we played very well together. I think we continue like this.
Tuesday night was Rempe’s seventh straight appearance after serving an eight-game suspension for elbowing Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
The Rangers are 5-0-2 in this span.
While there is much more to the Rangers’ turnaround, it would be remiss not to recognize how much Rempe’s presence has been factored into.
The fourth line of Rempe, Edstrom and Sam Carrick outshot the Senators 6-1 when on the ice. This is in addition to possessing a 3-1 advantage in high-danger opportunities, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“I think I can bring a lot of physicality, but I think I can play with the puck and use my body and my speed, be good defensively,” said Rempe, who had a goal and an assist this season. “I’ve been working a lot on my plays with the puck and I think the more I work, the more comfortable I feel, the more I can play.
“Breathe, try to find the next pass, try to continue the O-zone sequences and I think I can do it.”
Head coach Peter Laviolette credited Rempe for the composure he showed to score the goal he did.
However, when it became necessary to resort to physical deterrence, Rempe was present and accounted for.
A big fight broke out in the third period after Brady Tkachuk slammed into Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who appeared shaken before seeking revenge and attacking the Senators captain.
Rempe immediately went to Shesterkin and even though the referees had tied up Big No. 73, he still emerged from the scrum with Tkachuk within his reach. The two men attempted to exchange blows around the referee who was separating them.
“A little nervous because I don’t want anything to happen to him, but I love it,” Rempe said of what went through his mind when he saw Shesterkin take some from Tkachuk. “Just because he’s a competitor. I just want to make sure I go in there and nothing happens. It was great, Igor is the man.
The Rangers extended their point streak to nine games (6-0-3) to reach the 50-point mark this season.
Shesterkin posted back-to-back shutouts for the fifth time in his career and the second time in as many seasons.
The Russian star goaltender is one of only three goalies in franchise history to have accomplished this feat five times, after Lorne Chabot (six times) and Ed Giacomin (five times).
