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Matt Rempe was back in the Rangers lineup for their 4-1 win over the Lightning on Tuesday night, after the 6-foot-9 forward served as a healthy scratch in six straight games following the season-opening loss in Boston.
Replacing Jaroslav Chmelar on the right wing of the fourth line, Rempe and the rest of his linemates saw a limited opportunity because head coach Mike Sullivan cut his bench down late in the game.
The 24-year-old still managed to drop the gloves with the Lightning’s Jeff Viel.
“He obviously had a solid game for us,” Sullivan said of Rempe (3:43 ice time) after the Blueshirts remained undefeated on home ice. “He didn’t get a whole lot of minutes. Our fourth line didn’t get a lot of minutes tonight. It was the nature of how the game evolved. My intention going into the game was to get them more minutes than they did. I don’t think that’s something that we’re going to look to do on a regular, consistent basis. It was just how the game evolved and looking for certain matchups.
“You sprinkle in some of the power plays and the penalty kills and defending the lead down the stretch. There were a lot of factors for that reason, but in the short minutes that Remps played, he made an impact.”
Sullivan has indicated that dressing Chmelar or Rempe would be a game-to-game decision, but the former had gotten a stretch of games amid the Rangers’ 5-1 run after their shutout loss in Boston.
Still, Chmelar was part of the dominant victory over the Lightning in their home opener.
Rempe, who missed most of last season due to two thumb surgeries, would have to pass through waivers in order to be assigned to Hartford. The Rangers likely don’t want him to sit for too long, but Sullivan has also claimed the personnel switch would be based on opponent matchups as well.
After his first official game back on Sept. 29, Rempe said his thumb felt 100 percent.
“It was a lot of fun,” Rempe told The Post before he watched Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury from the press box in Washington. “Obviously, not the greatest result in the game, but I felt good. I felt good. Seeing good. Physically, felt strong. Felt like myself again. So I was happy.”
With only one goal through his first eight games as a Ranger, Pavel Dorofeyev was asked if he was feeling pressure to contribute more.
“No, not really,” he said. “I’m not focused on that stuff at all. Just trying to be myself and trying to help the team win the games. Sometimes you just have to play another way. It’s not always [about] the goals.”
Sullivan has opted to swap Dorofeyev with Gabe Perreault on the top power-play unit when the veteran head coach feels the group needs a boost.
After doing so against Vancouver, Sullivan did it again Tuesday night against the Lightning.
The Rangers power play wasn’t able to convert on any of their four opportunities.
The Rangers are scheduled to practice Wednesday before they return to game action in Newark on Thursday against the Devils.