The day Matt Rempe made his NHL debut on that memorable afternoon at MetLife Stadium, it marked Rempe's first "staged fight" with two more to come.

When the Rangers and Blue Jackets collide tonight, I suspect that the Good Housekeeping Bureau of the National Hockey League will take a more intense look at proceedings.

Frankly, it's about the Rangers rookie and his Rempe Rampage.

The day Matt Rempe made his NHL debut on that memorable afternoon at MetLife Stadium, it marked Rempe's first "staged fight" with two more to come.

By "staged," The Maven means it really had nothing to do with the game itself but rather two rough customers -- Rempe and the Islanders Matt Martin -- enjoying their own private fight.

Some critics would refer to it as "Old Time Hockey" with no idea whatever what real "Old Time Hockey" of the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's hockey fights were all about.

The significance in this particular case is that Rempe followed up his decision over Martin with two more meaningful maulings; first with the Flyers' toughie Nic Deslauiers -- a beaut of a slugfest -- and most recently Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier beating the tar out of the other Matt.

Like the Martin fight it began with a pre-game conversation at center ice about a possible bout -- again with no connection to the game -- and then the fight which left Rempe wondering whether being an enforcer is such a good idea after all.

The NHL has been clear that fighting has been down over the past few years and justly boasts about the healthy trend.

I don't think Bettman, Inc. wants to go too nuts about the Rempe Rampage. But we'll find out if Olivier and Rempe square off again at The Garden, where the Friday Night Fights once were great events.