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The New York Rangers will host the New Jersey Devils inside Madison Square Garden Thursday night. The Rangers are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss against the Dallas Stars Tuesday and are 18-20-2 on the season.

The last time the New Jersey Devils saw their rivals, it was the first meeting with the New York Rangers in a new era. Jacob Trouba, their former captain, was traded to the Anaheim Ducks and no longer manned the Blueshirts blueline.

And Rempe acknowledged another violation could lead to a “huge suspension,” forcing him to confront the daunting challenge of embracing his physicality — the strength that helped him carve out a marginal role in the first place and become a fan favorite after debuting last February — while preventing it from becoming reckless.

Returning to practice on Wednesday afternoon following an eight-game suspension, Rangers enforcer Matt Rempe admitted that he must play smarter moving forward.

The 6-9 forward finished serving his eight-game suspension and is eligible to return Thursday against the Devils.