Rangers unable to solve Panthers defense, pressure in 3-0 loss in Game 1

Matthew Tkachuk scored a first-period goal, Carter Verhaeghe added a third-period insurance tally on an own goal off of Alexis Lafreniere and Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves as the Florida Panthers beat the Rangers, 3-0, Wednesday night in the first game of the Eastern Conference Final. Sam Bennett scored an empty-netter with 1:19 left.

It was not a good start to what should be a long and rugged series between the two Eastern heavyweights. New York struggled with Florida's hyper-aggressive forecheck and went through long stretches where they had trouble clearing the puck out of their zone. That led to lulls in the sellout crowd of 18,006 at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers have a chance to even the best-of-seven series in Game 2 Friday night at the Garden. But, for now, anyway, Florida has stolen home ice advantage.

Here are the main takeaways

-The Panthers appeared to have taken a 2-0 lead with 11:15 left in the third period, but the goal was waved off after the Rangers challenged, citing goalie interference. Oliver Ekman-Larsson shot the puck past Shesterkin, but there was chaos in the crease first. Ryan Lomberg was inside the blue and made contact with Shesterkin before being pushed by Ryan Lindgren. The play was ultimately ruled goaltender interference. The crowd buzzed when no goal was announced, alive again.

-With 3:48 left in the third, the Panthers did take a 2-0 lead on Verhaeghe’s goal, which was unassisted. It was the seventh for Verhaeghe, who leads Florida in playoff goals. The score came a few minutes after a Ranger power play and an onslaught of Ranger shots, including one that rang the post.

-The Blueshirts, who entered the game second among playoff teams with 11 power-play goals – behind only Edmonton’s 15 – got their first man-advantage with 1:26 left in the second when Bennett was whistled for holding Adam Fox’s stick. They didn’t have a shot for most of the time before the period ended but nearly scored when Mika Zibanejad unleashed a one-timer that hit Vincent Trocheck near an open slice of net. The moment got the crowd re-involved in the game after stretches of quiet in the stands. In the remaining part of the power play, the first 34 seconds of the third period, the Rangers did not score.

-The Rangers were outshot in the second period, 9-7, but had two big chances early on when Will Cuylle was alone in front and Bobrovsky stopped him just 48 seconds into the period. Less than a minute later, Bobrovsky stoned Trocheck’s tip-in try in front. Igor Shesterkin returned the favor with about five minutes left when Aleksander Barkov was by himself in front with a backhand try and Shesterkin deflected it wide.

-The Panthers took a 1-0 lead with 3:34 left in a physical first period when Tkachuk shot the puck around Fox and past Shesterkin from the left circle. It was the fifth goal of the playoffs for Tkachuk, who came into the game leading Florida in points in the playoffs. Florida had been buzzing through the offensive zone for much of the period and outshot the Rangers, 9-5. The Blueshirts seemed to have trouble clearing the puck several times and had six giveaways in the period.

New York’s best chance in the first came with about 2:20 left when Braden Schneider got loose on a breakaway and his shot hit the left post. There were several big hits in the period, including one in open ice when Tkachuk crashed into Trocheck and another when Cuylle slammed into Barkov just before the horn.

-The Rangers’ penalty-kill unit wiped out three Florida power plays, continuing a terrific playoffs on the PK. The Rangers came into the game second among playoff teams on the penalty kill and have now killed 37-of-41 chances (90.2 percent). They have killed 30 of the last 32 chances (93.8 percent) dating back to Game 3 of the first round.

-Filip Chytil, who returned to the ice in Game 3 of the Carolina series but then missed the next three games, was back Wednesday night. Matt Rempe, the physical cult hero, was scratched.

GAME MVP: Florida’s savage forecheck, which seemed to keep the Rangers on their heels in the Blueshirts’ defensive zone. Bobrovsky had a few Ranger spurts to deal with, but otherwise, the forecheck kept the Rangers in their own end.

Highlights

What's next

The Rangers once again host the Panthers at MSG for Game 2 on Friday night at 8 p.m.