Matt Rempe desperate to not let this Rangers chance pass him by

The sight from the first three days of training camp was telling. There was Matt Rempe, the 6-foot-9 forward, rotating in with the Rangers’ fourth line behind Jaroslav Chmelar for the first two sessions.There was Rempe, finally Saturday, taking the first reps with the fourth line.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.

“Whatever rep you’re getting, just make the most of it,” Rempe said from his locker Thursday morning, but the lack of continuity sent a signal. Rempe knew entering training camp that he had a lot to prove.His thumb injury — and the two procedures that followed his fight with Ryan Reaves — limited him to just 26 games last season.

His last NHL game before Monday’s preseason game against the Devils was Feb.5, and head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged that Rempe simply needs to play games.

The emergence of Chmelar over the final two months of the regular season complicated his path back to the right side of the fourth line too.The opening days of a condensed training camp reiterated that notion, and Rempe admitted there’s “100 percent” desperation to land a spot on the Blueshirts’ roster. “Being on the team the last couple years … a lot of it, like last year, was hurt and wasn’t really around at all,” Rempe said pregame.

“It’s been a long time for me since my last game — always a sense of desperation.I want to be here bad, yeah.” Even after returning from his first thumb procedure in December, Rempe, 24, was a shell of the physical presence the Blueshirts were used to, struggling with shooting, puck movement and anything that involved the left thumb that he broke during the October fight with Reaves.

But Rempe said Monday that he’s back to that level.He doesn’t know if there will be a mental hurdle to clear when he drops the gloves for the first time — “I guess we’ll see,” he said — ...