Artemi Panarin, Matthew Tkachuk, Chris Kreider
and Sasha Barkov. NYP photo
The Eastern Conference Final is upon us.
The Rangers square off against the Panthers for Game 1 at Madison Square Garden.
New York won its previous series 4-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes and the Panthers defeated the Bruins in six games.
Matthew Tkachuk leads Florida with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 11 playoff games.
The Rangers have five players with at least 10 points across their 10 playoff games, led by Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck with 14 apiece.
Artemi Panarin has 11 points, and Chris Kreider — coming off his third-period hat trick in Game 6 against the Hurricanes to clinch the series — and Alexis Lafreniere have 10 points.
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Panthers head coach Paul Maurice seems to have an anecdote to share about every player he’s coached and coached against, but when it came to his trade-deadline pickup and ex-Ranger Vladimir Tarasenko, the story most worth telling took place during a time when they were on opposing benches in a playoff game.
It was the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2019, when Maurice was the head coach of the Jets and they squared off with Tarasenko and the Blues.
After the visiting team triumphed through each of the first four games, Winnipeg had a 2-0 lead in Game 5.
What should worry the Rangers after Wednesday night is not just the way they struggled to break down the Panthers’ defense and forecheck all night long.
What should worry them just as much is that Florida coach Paul Maurice did not feel like his team forechecked particularly well on a night when the Rangers got just 23 shots on Sergei Bobrovsky’s net and at one point went 14:23 without one in a 3-0 loss.
Florida Panthers right wing Vladimir Tarasenko #10 checks New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba #8 during the first period on Wednesday night. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“That’s kinda the way we play,” Maurice said. “I thought we were just OK with it, to be honest with you.
After Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin came out of the net aggressively to play the puck, the Panthers sniper Carter Verhaeghe ended up with the rubber on his stick on the far-side boards, looking for a cross-ice pass to the weak side.
Alexis Lafrenière (L) accidentally puts the puck between teammate New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin legs as he tried to stop a shot by Florida Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe in the third period. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
Sergey Bobrovsky makes a save on Jacob Trouba during the third period of the Rangers’ Game 1 loss. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Sergei Bobrovsky saw 23 shots on Wednesday night, and he stopped every last one of them.
The Panthers netminder accomplished a rarity in the Eastern Conference Final-opening 3-0 win at the Garden, serving the Rangers with their first blanking of the postseason — and only the second since the 2023-24 season began.
The last time the Blueshirts were held goalless was a 4-0 Dec. 9 loss to the rival Capitals.
Maybe there was some bad mojo left over at the Garden from the Knicks’ Game 7 loss to the Pacers on Sunday.
It’s difficult to determine which of the Rangers’ failed close calls will have kept them up, unable to sleep late into Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
Sergey Bobrovsky makes a save on Mika Zibanejad during the second period of the Rangers’ 3-0 Game 1 loss to the Panthers. AP
Rangers legend Mark Messier was already saying the team was playing “too careful” and “too conservative,” and that was before the Blueshirts dropped Game 1 to the Panthers.
The 3-0 loss surely won’t change his opinion that the Rangers need to put Matt Rempe back in the lineup for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday night back at Madison Square Garden.
Speaking during the second intermission on ESPN, Messier explained why the Rangers needed to insert the popular bruiser back into the lineup.
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 23, 2024
Jimmy Vesey on Alexis Lafrenière’s own goal:
“I don’t think anyone’s looking at him for that play. He had a chance to tie the game in the 3rd. He’s been a huge part of the team all year. He’s played great in the playoffs. As a team, we’re looking to respond next game.”#NYR
Peter Laviolette was asked about the Rangers trailing in a series for the first time this postseason:
“I think we can play better. I don’t think that was the best version of ourselves. I think there’s more for us to give, and more for us to do out there” pic.twitter.com/d6tcAiTwEi
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 23, 2024
The Rangers had a big opportunity that they failed to capitalize on, Peter Laviolette explained after the Game 1 loss.
The Panthers had a goal overturned in the middle of the third period that could have been a catalyst for the Rangers to turn the tide, but the Blueshirts never found a way to make the most of it.
Peter Laviolette on the overturned goal call giving Madison Square Garden crowd some juice:
“This is not an excuse at all because we’re both playing on the same ice. But the ice wasn’t the best. But that’s gonna be the case at this time of year. They put everything behind us and they went to work”
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 23, 2024
“I think we feel like we have better in us and I think first and foremost we look at ourselves and what we have to do better. There’s room for not improvement, but to raise our level”
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