With Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler inching toward a return, the opportunity for Matt Rempe to crack the Rangers' lineup is looking slim.
The New York Rangers are starting to get healthier, which may not be the best thing for Matt Rempe.
With players including Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler expected to be available for the Eastern Conference Final, Rempe seems to be the odd man out in the lineup.
In New York’s second round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, Rempe was already a healthy scratch for three out of the six games and has only averaged 6:18 minutes of ice time through these playoffs.
The 21-year-old has also had a more limited role through the Rangers’ most recent practices, leading to the belief that he won’t be in the lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
There really seems to be one lineup spot available amongst the forward group and all signs are pointing in the direction that Chytil will be the one to fill that role.
Rempe could still work his way back into the fold eventually. It’s not impossible, but between Chytil, Wheeler and Jonny Brodzinski all in the mix, Rempe’s odds don’t necessarily look all that great.
Despite Rempe’s lack of usage through the playoffs, he still holds a positive attitude.
“Everything, what I’ve done my whole life, is outwork people and that’s what I want to do,” Rempe said via the New York Post. “I know I got a long way to go. I’ve just been always playing catchup, per se, the last couple of years and here I want to exceed expectations every single day. I got a lot of work to do now.”
Who knows, maybe the Rangers will need Rempe at some point against the Big Bad Florida Panthers.