Sens go after Matt Rempe early in tonight's game

UPDATE: Not even five minutes into tonight's game between the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers and the Sens are already trying to get at Matt Rempe.

Earlier today we published a report on the Sens calling up defenseman Zack Ostapchuk ahead of tonight's bout vs the Rangers in an effort to match Rempe's firepower. Well, Ostapchuk may still factor into things but it's actually Boko Imama who's trying to get a piece of Rempe in the early going.

Check it out:

Read below for our earlier report on this game.

The Ottawa Senators are looking to send a message on Monday night.

In an official announcement, the Senators announced on Monday that they were calling up defenseman Zack Ostapchuk from the Belleville Senators ahead of their game later tonight against the New York Rangers. The timing of this move does not appear to be a coincidence.

New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe has been making waves this season both with his willingness to take on all comers when it comes to dropping the gloves, as well as with his physical style of play on the ice. As it turns out Rempe and Ostapchuk are no strangers to one another, and I believe it is for this reason that the Senators have made the decision to call him up.

As you can see from the short clip below, these two men have crossed paths before:

On that particular occasion Ostapchuk got the better of Rempe but there's no denying the fact that Rempe has come a long way since that time. The Rangers forward has since taken on several of the toughest men the National Hockey League has to offer, and he has no doubt gained a considerable amount of experience in the process.

There's no guarantee that these two men will clash again this evening, but it does appear as though the Senators are bringing in Ostapchuk specifically to deal with Rempe should things get out of hand.