During warmups ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern conference final between the Florida and New York, the Rangers had both Matt Rempe and Blake Wheeler on the ice. One thing was clear: Kaapo Kakko is not and will be scratched for the second contest of this series.
It came down to Rempe and Wheeler, and fans quickly got hope that Wheeler would be making a comeback. The veteran forward went down with a serious leg injury in mid-February and has yet to play for the Rangers in the postseason.
However, when it came to line rushes, Wheeler however did not take part in them and it was Rempe was paired with Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow.
Therefore, Rempe is officially coming in for Kakko. Earlier this week, Rangers legend Mark Messier had complained that New York was playing “too careful” and “too conservative,” and after losing Game 1 3-0 at the hands of the Panthers, he demanded that head coach Peter Laviolette insert Rempe back into the lineup.
In their second round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Rempe was already the odd man out in the press box for three out of the six games and has only averaged 6:18 minutes of ice time through these playoffs. In a total of seven games in the postseason, Rempe has tallied just one goal.
But he will add some grit to the roster.
Fans will still have to wait for the return of Wheeler.
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