Matt Rempe Ruthlessly Disrespects Tom Wilson, Denies Him Fight

Getty Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers.

The New York Rangers fought their demons on Friday, April 26, beating the Washington Capitals 3-1 and earning a 3-0 first-round lead after not being able to do so last season and crashing out of the playoffs at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.

That wasn’t the case this time, however, as the Rangers scored goals of all varieties on Friday including at even strength, on the power play, and on a penalty-kill sequence.

When the final horn sounded, the Rangers celebrated a 3-1 win and the possibility of sweeping Washington on Sunday, April 28, in Game 4 scheduled to take place in the nation’s capital.

Tom Wilson appeared to want to go with Matt Rempe but Rempe passed 😳

This series has been marked by its increasing levels of physicality, and the Capitals players have different opinions and are reacting differently about it.

In Game 3, after Matt Rempe had leveled Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and injured him with a humongous flying hit, Capitals captain Tom Wilson badly wanted to drop the gloves and fight the Rangers rookie… to no avail.

Rempe laughed off Wilson’s attempt even though the veteran enforcer hit him a few times trying to foster a reaction that never came from the young Blueshirts forward.

What makes Wilson’s reaction to Rempe’s hit on teammate van Riemsdyk funny is that another Capitals veteran, T.J. Oshie, said before Game 3 that he had no problem with Panarin’s hit on him in Game 2, one that knocked him out for the rest of that matchup once delivered.

TJ Oshie had no problems with the Artemi Panarin hit in Game 2

Former NHL player and TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette asked Oshie about the hit and how they planned to emotionally deal with Game 3 and resetting in a must-win situation.

“I mean, me personally I think the Panarin hit was good,” Oshie said before Game 3. “I loved that, I think that’s the way it should be called. When you get through someone’s body, obviously, sometimes you’re going to get hit in the head on accident, but I kinda like that, that’s how I play.”

Rangers Goalie Igor Shesterkin Goes for the Goal

With the game virtually over and just 25 seconds left in the third and final period, something funny happened.

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin received the puck on the top of his crease with the Capitals having six skaters and an empty net in a desperate attempt to score a couple of late-game goals to force overtime.

So the netminder went for it.

Alex Ovechkin made sure the puck never reached the Capitals net grabbing the puck midway through the rink and preventing us from witnessing history.

That’s because Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck revealed after the game that had Shesterkin scored, his celebration would have been akin to those that took place in 1994 when the Blueshirts last lifted the Stanley Cup.

“I had energy for sure,” Trocheck told TNT after the Game 3 win while discussing Shesterkin’s attempt to score. “I would’ve celly’d like it was 1994.”

When the Rangers won the 1994 Stanley Cup, Trocheck was not even one year old. The center, who was born on July 11, 1993, has been a member of the Blueshirts organization since he arrived in Manhattan ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Trocheck entered the NHL in 2014 after being drafted by the Florida Panthers with the No. 64 overall pick of the 2011 draft. He spent seven years with Florida, then three with the Carolina Hurricanes, and he’s in his second campaign with the Rangers.