Mike Sullivan raves about Matt Rempe as Rangers test out huge fourth line

The Rangers rolled out a towering fourth line in their preseason-opening win over the Devils on Sunday, with the 6-foot-7 Dylan Roobroeck centering the 6-foot-5 Nathan Aspinall and the 6-foot-9 Matt Rempe. 

When asked about the whole unit’s impact, however, new head coach Mike Sullivan glowed about Rempe in particular. 

“I thought Remps had a great game,” Sullivan said after the 5-3 victory at Prudential Center in Newark. “He was really strong on pucks. He hangs onto pucks down low. 

“That line, just by the nature of their physical stature, they’re a tough line to handle. I thought Remps did a really good job protecting pucks. He made good decisions when plays weren’t there off the rush. He would drive pucks low, and he would go to work down underneath the hash marks. When he does that, I think he’s a handful for our opponents.“Just the strength to go through their defensemen to get the puck to the net. That wasn’t the only thing he did, I thought he was pretty solid all night long. We put him on the net-front of the power play because we thought he was deserving. We make that low play — he tries to make that play between his legs. The bench lit up when that happened. I think they really appreciated that when he came back to the bench.” 

“He’s just so big and so strong, and he creates momentum for us. I thought the goal they scored, Remps’ effort on that goal was outstanding. I’ve noticed [his speed] in the first few days of camp. He’s in great shape, but he’s a strong skater. Sometimes, bigger guys like that, they don’t look like they’re going that fast because they have long levers, but they’re covering ground out there. He’s one of those guys. For a guy that’s as big as he is, he gets around the ice pretty good.” 

The Rangers fourth line notched the second of the team’s five goals early in the second period Sunday. 

Rempe used the speed he’s been working on all summer to split two Devils players and put the puck on net. That allowed Roobroeck to swoop in and bury the rebound for a 2-1 lead at the 3:11 mark. 

Brennan Othmann had a tough first preseason game, posting one shot on goal in 12:30 of ice time. 

In addition to racking up 15 penalty minutes by way of a five-minute major and a game misconduct for elbowing Calen Addison later in the third period, Othmann committed a few turnovers and struggled with puck management. The play could turn into a suspension. 

Gabe Perreault opened the scoring for the Rangers, while Scott Morrow, Conor Sheary and Jonny Brodzinski each scored a goal.

Roobroeck led the Blueshirts with two points after assisting on Brodzinski’s 5-2 goal in the second. 

Goalie Jonathan Quick saved 12 of the 13 shots he saw before Dylan Garand allowed two goals on 15 shots.