Rangers forward Matt Rempe suspended for eight games for elbow on Heiskanen

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe was suspended for eight games by NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Sunday for boarding and elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Friday night.

Rempe had an in-person hearing via Zoom on Sunday, as opposed to a phone call, which allowed senior vice president of player safety George Parros and his department to suspend Rempe for six or more games.

The announcement was made shortly after the Rangers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 at home. It was New York’s 12th loss in its last 16 games and fourth in a row at Madison Square Garden.

Rempe, a 6-foot-8 forward, became popular last season in his rookie year with the Rangers for fighting some of the NHL’s toughest players. But he was ejected twice and also received a four-game suspension for an elbow to the head of New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler in a home game on March 11.

The 22-year-old Rempe has zero points in five games this season. Friday’s game at Dallas was his first back in the NHL after being recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League, where he had three goals, two assists and 22 penalty minutes in 18 games.

Rempe spent the summer training to become a better fighter but also worked to become a better all-around player.

He played less than six minutes in the 3-1 win against the Stars but also drew three penalties as the Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak with the road victory.

Rempe has been assessed four game misconducts as well as eight major penalties in 22 regular-season games for the Rangers.

Rempe was selected by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He burst on the scene last February when he fought Matt Martin of the Islanders outdoors in front of a crowd of nearly 80,000 at MetLife Stadium in his NHL debut.

He had a goal, an assist and 71 penalty minutes in 17 games last season and also scored once in 11 playoff games as the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Florida Panthers in six games.

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