Matt Rempe has become the hockey equivalent of the individual who counts to 10 before he acts.
Since returning Jan. 9 from the eight-game suspension that may well mark the crossroads of his very young career, the Blueshirts’ unique fourth-line weapon has been in complete command of his actions, avoiding undisciplined, reckless plays while carving out a regular spot in the lineup.
“I think that when I’m tracking on the forecheck, I can see where I have the other guy lined up real good and then I can throw my weight and get in a real nice check but I can see it now when there’s a little risk involved, I’m thinking through it more and thinking through the game more,” No. 73 told The Post following Monday’s practice.
“If I feel it’s a little bit of a risk, I’m thinking, ‘Do I have him or not?’ because I can’t have any more of those kinds of penalties. But I know I can still be really physical and effective by picking my spots and making sure the checks are good.”
In nine games since his return, playing on the right side of an effective fourth line with Adam Edstrom on the left and Sam Carrick in the middle, there have been no extended elbows. Rempe has picked up three roughing minors and a fighting major.
Equally to the point, the 22-year-old has chipped in with a goal and an assist, using his silky mitts to go up top on a backhand short side to finish a breakaway against Ottawa on Jan. 21 while setting up Carrick with a gorgeous backhand feed after coming out with the puck behind the net on Sunday against Colorado.
“I think [this approach] makes me more effective but I’m also starting to feel more comfortable with the puck, if that makes sense,” Rempe said. “I’m trying to make more plays and that’s just me trying to get more comfortable at the NHL level with the puck.
“I take a breath, I can hold onto it more and use my body more and make a play. I think my skills work have started to translate. I still have a long, long way to go but I’m starting to notice my improvement in that area and that’s great.”
Rempe was scratched for three of the first four and five of the first seven matches before he was exiled to the AHL Wolf Pack for the better part of the next seven weeks. Upon his return from Hartford, he picked up his eight-game ban after racing across the rink to elbow Miro Heiskanen in his first game back.
Earning head coach Peter Laviolette’s confidence has been a process. It’s been a long and winding road. But over the last week, Rempe has earned more trust and ice time. He and his linemates were on the ice with 3:30 to go in the third period against Colorado in what at the time was a 4-4 game.
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Maybe there is a comfort level. But no, that is not it.
“I don’t want to be comfortable at all. I feel like for me, I play my best when I have a mindset that I have to do everything I can to prove myself every game,” he said. “On the other side, though, when you’re in the lineup and on the same line 10 games in a row, you begin to build confidence and chemistry and take a lot of pride.
“We want to prove that we can be counted on at all times and be an effective line in any situation. Myself and as a line, I know we want to put up a big body of work over time and build on it.”
A contract extension was not uppermost in Will Borgen’s mind when he became a Ranger after his Dec. 18 trade from Seattle in the Kaapo Kakko exchange. The pending free agent had other things on his mind.
But it took just about five weeks for the Blueshirts and the 28-year-old righty defenseman who has paired with K’Andre Miller on the second tandem to reach a comfort level that culminated with the five-year extension at an AAV of $4.1 million that was announced on Saturday.
“There were a lot of moving parts when I came here so it wasn’t on my mind originally,” Borgen said Monday. “But once they started talking and it was coming about, I said, ‘Yeah, it would be awesome to be here.’
“There was no certainty but once they started talking it was a pretty easy choice.”
Borgen’s physicality and consistency has solidified the second pair. But he was also the primary culprit in the Blueshirts’ stunning 5-4 defeat to Colorado on Sunday when Cale Makar raced out of the penalty box after a successful kill to pick off No. 17’s cross ice pass intended for Artemi Panarin to instead trigger the three-on-one rush that culminated with Artturi Lehkonen’s game winner with 14.7 seconds to go.
“I didn’t see [Makar]. I should have looked harder,” Borgen told The Post. “Just an unfortunate play and a bad play by me.
“I have to be more aware of the time and, no, I didn’t expect it. It’s unfortunate but just have to move past it.”
