Matt Rempe’s day started by talking about a holiday trip he took with Adam Edstrom to an escape room in White Plains.
Nearly 13 hours later, he stood in the crowd in the Rangers’ locker room and recounted his reaction when Peter Laviolette called his name late in the game’s 2-1 overtime win over the Panthers.
“I heard Ravi call my name with two minutes left and I was like, ‘Oh, here we go. Jiminy Crickets, here we go,'” Rempe said. “I just went out there, moved around and tried to do my job. I felt really good during the game. I felt good with the puck, I felt good in the defensive zone. When I got the shift into the offensive zone in overtime, I was pretty pumped. It was awesome. It was a lot of fun.”
Whatever your opinion of Rempe, I can say this: he knows how to command a room.
The Post follows Rangers coverage in the NHL playoffs
After being the centerpiece of a 48-hour news cycle with everyone from Wayne Gretzky to Mark Messier calling for him to be in the Rangers’ lineup, the 21-year-old made his first appearance in a conference final on Friday night.
And he showed up and lived up to expectations, playing 10 minutes and three seconds, collecting nine hits and contributing all over the ice in a game in which the Rangers held a physical advantage compared to their Game 1 loss.
This was the full Rempe experience.
Fans were chanting his name from the get-go, and at one point he even challenged and won a faceoff.
And with Jimmy Vesey out injured, Rempe got some playing time on the ice in the third period and overtime.
“At that point, we had the line locked on,” Laviolette said. “When they rolled and they rolled the line, it was hard to get him out there.
“I thought he had a really good pace right from the start of the game. He was effective on the forecheck, he made passes in behind, he made passes into the other team’s zone and he stayed there. I thought especially early in the first period, he came out and really made an impact.”
Rempemania in the conference finals.
Rempemania will help keep Rangers’ hopes alive.
“The fans here are amazing,” he said. “It’s incredible. I don’t want to let them down. I love them so much. They’re always rooting for me no matter what. I want to go out there and make them proud. I want to go out there and do something. I want to do something every shift.”
“How could you not have that energy with everyone screaming out there? It was amazing. Unbelievable.”
