Watch: Rangers' Matt Rempe left bleeding by Caps' Dylan McIlrath in heavyweight tilt

The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals matchup on Tuesday night featured a heavyweight tilt between Rangers forward Matt Rempe and Caps defenseman Dylan McIlrath.

The fight broke out just 2:37 into the first period, with both big men dropping the gloves at center ice to the roar of the crowd at Capital One Arena.

The two exchanged right hands and left jabs, but it was McIlrath who appeared to get the upper hand. He landed several hard shots that left Rempe bleeding from a cut under his left eye. After around 30 seconds of trading punches, McIlrath took Rempe down to the ice to end the bout.

Watch the video here:

Rempe immediately left the ice and headed down the stand. Rempe had just returned to the Rangers lineup after being sent down to the AHL over the weekend. The Capitals held a 4-3 lead over the Rangers at the end of the second period.

This wasn't the first fight between Rempe and McIlrath. The previous instance was during the AHL 2022-23 season when McIlrath was with the Hershey Bears and Rempe played for the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Matt Rempe's NHL return after AHL demotion

The New York Rangers sent forward Matt Rempe to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday. The demotion was framed as a way to get Rempe some beneficial playing time and development. However, four days and two AHL games later, Rempe found himself back with the Rangers.

The Rangers said they want Rempe to become a more well-rounded player. Yet with his limited ice time, averaging just five minutes per game, Rempe is at risk of being typecast into an enforcer role - something the team has actively said they don't want for him.

When asked about Rempe's quick return, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette commented before game:

“We make the decisions based on what we think we need for any given night. Him (Rempe) going down and playing two games and playing 16-18 minutes in all situations, that’s great for him and his development.”

Before the game against the Capitals, Rempe played 2 NHL games without scoring any points.