Marcos Cannizzaro
nhl
Published May 22, 2024 at 11:48 pm ET
There may have been some bad mood left in the Garden from the Knicks’ Game 7 loss to the Pacers on Sunday.
It’s difficult to determine which of the Rangers’ shortcomings may have kept them awake, unable to sleep late Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
Because there were a few of them, and each one was worth grieving after their 3-0 loss to the Panthers.
Sergey Bobrovsky saves Mika Zibanejad during the second period of the Rangers’ 3-0 Game 1 loss to the Panthers. Keynote USA
The Rangers didn’t have many shots on goal in the game, only 23, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their chances. The best of their opportunities came when the second half was about to end.
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Artemi Panarin brought the puck into the Florida zone and passed it to Adam Fox, who fed it to Mika Zibanejad in his office: the left point.
Zibanejad, in his wheelhouse, fired a low, hard shot toward the right post of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who kicked it away a split second before the horn sounded.
The play came on the Rangers’ only power play in the first two periods, and Bobrovsky’s save kept the score 1-0 for the Panthers.
This opportunity came just over three minutes after the Rangers ended an awkward nearly 15-minute stretch of the second half without a single shot.
Their last shot of that stretch came at 18:05 and the next shot came off the stick of Fox, who lofted the puck in front of the Panthers’ net. Bobrovsky appeared to lose count with Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere standing in his doorway hoping to slam in the rebound.
Braden Schneider, who hit the post on a breakaway, prepares as defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky defend during the Rangers’ loss in Game 1. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Bobrovsky saw the puck at the last second and covered it.
The Rangers’ scoring opportunities started quite early. The first was a shot off Vincent Trocheck’s stick less than five minutes into the game that hit Bobrovsky’s mask with such force that it knocked it over and appeared to stun him for a moment. With the goalkeeper’s mask fallen, the game was declared a faceoff for the moment.
With just over six minutes left in the first half, Lafreniere received a pass from Panarin and, beating former Rangers defenseman Niko Mikkola, unleashed a sneak shot that was saved by Bobrovsky.
Sergey Bobrovsky saves Jacob Trouba during the third period of the Rangers’ loss in Game 1. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Three minutes after that chance, the Panthers took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Matthew Tkachuk, which came with Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin blocked by Fox when Tkachuk’s left-footed shot went in with 3:34 left. in the first.
That’s when the Rangers got their worst break of the night, with defenseman Braden Schneider on a breakaway that hit the right post with a laser that beat Bobrovsky with 2:19 left in the first.
The Rangers had another chance to break away less than a minute into the second period when Will Cuylle skated alone on Bobrovsky and was stoned by the goalie’s pads.
Will Cuylle’s shot is stopped by Sergey Bobrovsky during the second period of the Rangers’ loss in Game 1. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
A minute after Cuylle’s shot was stopped, Trocheck received a pass from Jack Roslovic and Bobrovsky rejected it. A minute later, Lafreniere, who has had an excellent postseason with such growth demonstrated, had an open shot on Bobrovsky who fired high off the glass.
It was the story of the night for the Rangers, who have now surrendered precious home-field advantage to Florida as the teams prepare for Friday night’s Game 2, which becomes critical for the Blueshirts.
With Rangers in a mad scramble trying to find an equalizer, insult turned into injury.
With 7:15 left in the game, Rangers center Alexander Wennberg had two point-blank scoring opportunities and was stoned both times. Faced with Wennberg’s chances in what was one of the few sustained fights in front of Florida’s net, Wennberg deflected a shot from Lafreniere that hit the post.
The Rangers went on a power play shortly after that and missed, and that was followed by a crushing own goal off Lafreniere’s stick while trying to clear a Carter Verhaeghe shot with 3:48 left. Verhaege, who got the puck after a miss by Shesterkin, was credited with the goal.
The Panthers, who would add an empty-net player, have shown that they are not afraid or affected by playing on the road, even if that road game is at historic Madison Square Garden. They are now 5-1 on the road this postseason, including wins in their last four.
That makes Friday night particularly stressful for the Rangers.
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