There is a new sheriff in Madison Square Garden, and his name is Matt Rempe. The 22-year-old enforcer patrols the ice for the New York Rangers and makes sure nothing goes undetected, earning him a bad reputation around the NHL. After a 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Rangers’ fourth-liner voiced a strong statement to Brady Tkachuk about getting in a fight with star goaltender Igor Shesterkin.
It was a typical hockey night at the most famous arena in the world, until it spiraled out of control. There were subtle foreshadows, as kids say, made evident when Rempe found the back of the net, scoring his first goal of the 2024-25 NHL season.
However, things would only get crazier from there. The Rangers surged to a comfortable 3-0 lead over the Senators in a game with major Stanley Cup Playoff implications. As the game slipped out of Ottawa’s reach—who had only lost three of their last eight games but had been shut out in each defeat during that span—tempers flared.
An all-out brawl erupted as Tkachuk crashed into the net, and Shesterkin went after the Senators’ captain. The arena exploded in chaos. Tkachuk landed a few punches on Shesterkin before Rempe had seen enough and grabbed hold of Tkachuk. After the game, the goalscorer Rempe delivered a stern message to the Senators, and anybody in the league looking to go after Shesterkin.
“Just want to make sure I get in there and nothing happens,” Rempe stated, via Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “A little nervous because I don’t want anything to happen to him, but I love it. Just because he’s a competitor. It was awesome, Igor’s the man.”
Igor’s point of view
The Rangers are back. The Broadway Blueshirts have dimmed the lights, raised the curtain, and the show is back in full swing in The Big Apple. New York is looking like its true self, back in the playoff mix.
The win over Ottawa was everything fans had hoped for—a complete effort with no shortage of fireworks. Fans are eager to see more of the same, though Shesterkin might be having second thoughts about stepping into another fight.
“I just got couple punches from Tkachuk. To be honest, this was [from his] hit on me. Not really enjoy that, because I was between the pipe and him,” Shesterkin admitted postgame, per The New York Post. “I didn’t want to jump there, but I saw he get [inaudible] on a fight between our guy and their guy, so I just tried to hold him, but he wanted to fight. It’s tough for me because I cannot drop my gloves. If I do that, I will go to locker room.”
Stepping stone
The Rangers will look to build on their current positive stretch, riding a nine-game point streak with victories in six of their last ten games and only one regulation loss.
Up next, the Rangers will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in a crucial Metro Division showdown with both teams tied at 50 points apiece. Puck drop is scheduled at 7:00p.m. ET on January 23 in NYC.