Fourth line gave Florida taste of own medicine

The Rangers decided to fight fire with fire.

And that’s where rookie forward Matt Rempe is at his best.

One of the most physical teams in the league, the Panthers, were out-muscling the Rangers early in Saturday night’s game en route to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. The Panthers average 27.4 hits per game, according to StatMuse, the most in the NHL.

After defenseman Adam Fox’s power-play goal cut the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1 in the second period, head coach Peter Laviolette opted to go with his fourth line, which Rempe skates on along with forward Jimmy Vesey and center Barclay Goodrow, to keep the team’s momentum going and deliver some more snarl to the game.

They answered the bell, delivering a few big hits that got the Madison Square Garden crowd roaring. And the second line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere replaced the fourth line soon after, and Panarin subsequently equalized before the Rangers eventually claimed a thrilling 4-3 shootout win.

“I thought it was a big turning point in the game,” Laviolette said of the fourth line’s effort. “We had not generated a ton in the first period. We get the power play in the second [period], we score a goal. The control line was out, Vesey and Rempe, they put it behind them and they finished some hits, they got some shots on net, next thing you know we’re back out with Trocheck’s line and a great goal, great play, and that evened things up. There was lots of energy on our bench, lots of energy in the building. From there, we just got better and better.”

➤ The Rangers are finally getting some much-needed rest.

After playing nine games in 15 days, capped off with Saturday night’s win, the Rangers don’t play again until Tuesday.

That allowed Laviolette to give the players an off day on Sunday and they’re set to practice on Monday — something that has been rare in recent weeks.

“We got a couple of tough games coming up,” Laviolette said. “The good thing is, we get a day off then a practice day. We haven’t seen that in a long time. Really deserving of a day off [Sunday].”