The New Jersey Devils are looking to redeem themselves against their cross-river rival the New York Rangers. The Devils have virtually no shot of making the playoffs, but the one thing that people are gearing up for is the potential blood bath between Kurtis MacDermid and Matt Rempe. It would be retaliation for Rempe hurting both Nathan Bastian (February 22nd) and Jonas Siegenthaler (March 11th). Rempe was suspended four games for elbowing Siegenthaler.
During Tuesday night's telecast, MSG play-by-play announcer Bill Spaulding said Rempe was taking line rushes at a recent Rangers practice despite being scratched the previous couple of games. MacDermid is "close to returning". However, Spaulding mentioned the possibility of him making his return in Wednesday night's matchup. Nothing is confirmed for the time being. If both players suit up, they may drop the mitts at some point.
Rempe controversially turned down a fight with MacDermid in the previous Devils-Rangers game which "broke the code." Rempe still has a lot to learn if he wants to remain in the NHL. But he needs to be taught a lesson regarding "NHL etiquette," including preparing himself for a fight after injuring two Devils players for an extended period of time. He can learn a lot from former Devils enforcer Cam Janssen, who racked up 774 penalty minutes in 336 career games.
One of Janssen's infamous moments was during a game in 2007 when he committed a late hit on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The hit knocked Kaberle out cold, and he had to be taken out of the game via stretcher. Janssen admitted that he "caught him hard." But he knew what was awaiting him a couple of weeks later when the Devils traveled up North.
"Two weeks later, we were in Toronto, and I had to pay the piper. That's what you do if you're going to hit a guy like that, you better go out there and pay the piper with the big boy, Wade Belak. "Cam Janssen via Locked On Devils, 2022
After the fight, Janssen said that he felt like he was having a heart attack while sitting in the penalty box. But he understood the circumstances and had nothing but positive things to say about the late Wade Belak. While the league has already punished him, Rempe still needs to learn the same on-ice lesson that Janssen endured. He cannot pick and choose when to drop the mitts, especially when he causes harm to a team.