COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NHL heavyweights are lining up for a chance to scrap with Matt Rempe.
On Sunday night, it was Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier who dropped the gloves with the Rangers 6-foot-8 ½ monster on his first shift of the game.
The two went punch-for-punch for a bit before Olivier landed a couple tough blows that sent Rempe to the ice. Both men had blood on their faces when it was over.
Nationwide Arena enjoyed every second of it, and then oo-ed and ah-ed at the replay of the scrap on the jumbotron.
Rempe did retreat to the locker room immediately after to get looked at and returned to the bench late in the first period.
The Rangers then fell behind 1-0 just as the Blue Jackets power play expired on a goal from Dmitri Voronkov.
This marks Rempe’s fourth NHL fight in the five games he’s played.
The 21-year-old has also tussled with the Islanders’ Matt Martin, the Devils’ Jonas Siegenthaler and the Flyers’ Nicolas Deslauriers.
