Matt Rempe punished by the New York Rangers for declining play

The rookie Matt Rempe was punished by the New York Rangers in their last game against the Washington Capitals for his declining play.

On Sunday night, the Rangers did what many fans thought they would do against the Caps in the first round: they swept Washington and became the first team in the League to clinch their ticket for the second round.

In the win, Rangers fans couldn't help but notice that the Blue Shirts' star rookie, Matt Rempe, wasn't sent on the ice a single time in the third period. This came after he was limited to a mere eight shifts in the first two periods.

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski highlighted the situation with a post on X:





This attracted a lot of criticism, as the reporter took the focus away from the Rangers' impressive sweep.


Another fan stated that Rempe didn't look good on the ice when the Caps scored their first goal of the game.

In this video, we can see Rempe being in a bad position, letting Martin Fehervary alone in front of the net:


In the first game of the series, Rempe showed that he had brought his game to a new level, but it seems he wasn't able to keep it going, forcing Peter Laviolette to bench him in the crucial third period.


The Rangers will have a few extra days to prepare for the next round, and taking time with Rempe to make sure he doesn't repeat the same mistake.