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New York Rangers right winger Matt Rempe was fouled for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
About seven minutes into the third period, the Rangers had a 2-1 lead over the Stars. At that point, Rempe skated to the back of Heiskanen, who was chipping the puck out of Dallas’ defensive zone.
Rempe hit Heiskanen from behind with his elbow high. Heiskanen stood up slowly. He sat out about six minutes of playing time before returning for four more shifts.
After the goal, Stars center Roope Hintz rushed to Rempe to defend his old teammate. They both received a two-minute minor for roughing up. Rempe also received a five-minute major for elbowing and a 10-minute misconduct, ending his night at 5:32 of ice time and five hits.
Despite Rempe’s exclusion, the Rangers killed the major penalty and ended a three-match losing streak by beating the Stars 3–1.
“I thought he had a big impact on the game,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette told reporters afterward. “I’d like to stay away from the five-minute major, but he’s doing his best to hit bodies and make a difference in the game. Our guys really came around that at the end.”
This is the Rangers enforcer’s fourth ejection in 22 career NHL games. He was last given a game misconduct for participating in the Rangers-New Jersey Devils line brawl on April 3. That came a few weeks after Rempe was given a stiff penalty and ultimately a four-game suspension for elbowing Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler on March 11. And on February 22 against New Jersey, Rempe received another match penalty for a hit on Nathan Bastian.
This was Rempe’s first game for the Rangers since November 25 against the St. Louis Blues. The Rangers called him up from the AHL, where he had three goals, five points and 22 penalty minutes in 18 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
So far this season in the NHL, the 22-year-old has played five games and recorded one shot and 24 penalty minutes. Last season he scored 71 penalty minutes in 17 games, along with a goal and an assist.
Rempe is averaging 6:15 of ice time this season and 5:46 for his career.
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