Panthers blank Rangers to steal Game 1 of Eastern Conference Final

NHL

By Mollie Walker

The Rangers hadn’t trailed in a series this postseason, until the Panthers made themselves right at home in the Concrete Jungle to kick off the Eastern Conference Final. 

It took 10 games and two rounds to get here, but the Blueshirts have finally met their match in a Florida team that became the first club to shut them out this postseason with a 3-0 win in Game 1 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, landing the first blow in the fight for a Stanley Cup Final berth. 

“It’s a seven-game series,” Jimmy Vesey said. “We’ve been on the other side of it. Look at last round, teams respond and push and we’ve been a team that’s responded all year and met every challenge. So our mindset is no different.” 

There was a lot left to be desired regarding the Rangers’ play in this one. 

It’s not that the Rangers didn’t generate scoring chances, or quality ones at that, but there was a sort of disconnect that diminished the overall execution of their opportunities. 

The Rangers’ self-inflicted mistakes presented the Panthers with situations that they almost always took advantage of.

Florida was just as nasty and productive below the hash marks as it’s known to be. 

The Panthers put pressure on the Rangers in all situations. 

It had the Blueshirts looking discombobulated at times. 

Head coach Peter Laviolette started grasping for straws when it came to line combinations midway through the second period, when the Rangers trailed 1-0 after a first-period goal from Matthew Tkachuk. 

There was even a Kid Line sighting with Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko reuniting for the first time since Chytil went down 10 games into the season — in which they logged a grand total of 5:46 together. 

None of the changes had the desired effect as the Panthers kept the Rangers from finding any sort of groove. 

“I thought the execution of us getting out of our own zone and through the neutral zone could’ve been better, which will lead to offense,” Laviolette said. “From there in the offensive zone, there’s things that we can try to do to get better with regard to moving pucks, moving at a quicker pace, getting more numbers into the areas.” 

The Rangers still had a chance late in the third period, which was made possible by a successful challenge for goalie interference on Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s goal less than halfway through the final 20 minutes. 

It kept the home team’s deficit at one with 11:15 left in regulation, but the Rangers couldn’t net the equalizer before Alexis Lafreniere inadvertently tipped in Carter Verhaeghe’s centering feed later in the final frame.

Florida’s Sam Bennett then added an empty-net goal in the final minutes. 

Even when the Panthers were penalized for having too many men on the ice to give the Rangers a power play at the 13:11 mark of the third, their third man-advantage of the night, they didn’t have their usual special stuff with the man-advantage.

It marked their fifth game without a power-play goal this postseason. 

“You’d like to see [the team get energy from the successful challenge],” Laviolette said. “The building — we’ve got to give them a little bit more reason.” 

The Rangers had serious trouble getting the puck out of their own end, especially in the first period, when they committed seven turnovers.

It certainly played a direct factor in the team’s multitude of failed clearing attempts. 

And when they lost the puck, it was consistently difficult to get back as the Panthers hustled below the hash marks to maintain possession.

Tkachuk ultimately scored the first goal of the game on a wrister off the rush that sent the Rangers into the first intermission down 1-0. 

The Panthers have been a team that can outscore most opponents, but under second-year head coach Paul Maurice, their defensive efforts have been much improved. 

Such was on full display Wednesday night at MSG, in front of fans clad in blue that so badly wanted to cheer for a goal. 

They’ll have to wait — and hope — to do so during Game 2 on Friday.