Matt Rempe fights vs Devils: Rangers enforcer's bullish nature exposed during New Jersey matchups

Matt Rempe answered the bell against Kurtis MacDermid and the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

There was a line brawl right when the puck dropped, and the main event of it was Rempe vs. MacDermid. It's been a fight in the works for a couple of weeks. New Jersey acquired MacDermid in part to add toughness and deal with Rempe.

Since getting called up to the NHL earlier this season, Rempe has been the talk of the NHL due to his hits and fights, but he has gone after the Devils.

Matt Rempe vs Devils history

Matt Rempe's history with the Devils began when he was handed a game misconduct on Nathan Bastian. Then, he was suspended for four games for elbowing New Jersey Rangers defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler's head.

The next time New Jersey played New York, MacDermid tried to fight Rempe, which the rookie declined.

"There's a right way to go about things and a wrong way," MacDermid told reporters, via Sportsnet. "I kind of lost a lot of respect for him tonight ... He's a young kid in this league, he has a lot to learn still. You don't do things like that in your first year in the league, especially. Like I said, I lost quite a bit of respect for him tonight."

MacDermid felt like Rempe should fight him after two dirty hits he has had against the Devils.

"First shift I asked him, there's a bit of a code and I thought he would have answered that, but I don't know what he was told but he said no," MacDermid said. "After a hit like that, it kind of goes without saying you should answer the bell in some way and be a man about it.”

However, Rempe fought MacDermid right when the puck was dropped. It also started a line brawl between the two teams that saw eight players get ejected, including Rempe.

There's no question Rempe has a rivalry with the Devils, and Wednesday night's game likely wasn't the last time he will get involved with the team.