The Capitals aren't planning to play into Rempe's antics as they face the Rangers on Tuesday.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals understand why the New York Rangers recalled Matt Rempe and are suiting him up for Tuesday's contest in D.C.; They just don't really care.
Rempe has returned from his recent demotion to the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack as the Rangers look to add some grit and get under the skin of Washington's brass. However, for the Capitals, his return to the lineup isn't something they're thinking about.
"Nope, doesn't make a difference," Brandon Duhaime, who has two fights for Washington so far this season, said of facing Rempe. "Just stick to our game plan."
The last time Rempe was at Capital One Arena, he and the Rangers swept Washington in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tom Wilson had tried to fight him, but Rempe turned him down.
"I don't know, maybe that'll be his one chance (to fight me)," Wilson said at the end of last season, throwing shade at the Rangers' rookie sensation. "We'll see."
"That's just me kind of trying to grow and be smarter... when to fight on my own terms," Rempe said earlier in the year about the turned-down fight with Wilson.
Going into this game, the Capitals know that Rempe will again be out to make an impact as he makes his return to the NHL and tries to goad Washington's players into penalties.
For the Capitals, though, the plan is simple: ignore Rempe and pay attention to the details and the game, instead.
"I've played long enough, played against a lot of tough players over the years," Dylan McIlrath, who fought Rempe two years back at the AHL level, said. "He's obviously going to have the physical presence, we just got to play our game."
When it comes to whether or not a player like Rempe being in the mix changes his approach, McIlrath was honest.
"Doesn't change how I play," he shrugged.
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