Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1
New York Rangers vs Florida Panthers
8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC
It’s Game 1 of the much-anticipated Eastern Conference Finals between the Florida Panthers and my beloved New York Rangers. In this battle between two certified juggernauts, only one will get the chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. This is familiar territory for the Panthers, who won the East just a year ago before falling two wins short of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup. For us Rangers fans, the story is different—we’re vying for our first Cup Final appearance in nearly ten years. This series is appointment television, so clear your schedule.
We kick off this series at home, and you can bet Madison Square Garden will be rocking. Both teams have been extremely dominant in these playoffs, showcasing excellent depth and the perfect mix of skill and grit. Expect some fireworks in this series opener.
I believe we’ll take Game 1. In round 2, we faced a much stronger team than the Panthers did, taking down an elite Carolina Hurricanes team in six games. We’ve had slightly more rest than Florida and will have our incredible home crowd behind us. We’ve got five players posting over a point per game, and that doesn’t even include one of the NHL’s best defensemen, Adam Fox, whom I hope can find his game in this round. Our goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, has been arguably the best in these playoffs, boasting a .923 save percentage. This series will likely be an absolute dogfight the entire way through, but I think we’ll squeak out the first victory.
Both teams have shown exceptional defensive prowess, allowing 2.5 goals or fewer per game. This speaks volumes about their top-notch goaltending and fully committed systems. While goal scoring has been strong, I think the first game of this series will see a lower total. The ice will be a battlefield, with hits flying and shots being blocked. Every individual battle will be hard-fought. I don’t expect much open ice.
LET’S GO RANGERS!
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafreniere
Filip Chytil -- Alex Wennberg -- Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle -- Barclay Goodrow -- Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Zac Jones, Chad Ruhwedel, Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edstrom, Matt Rempe, Blake Wheeler
Injured: None
364 responses to “It’s Go Time!”
gotta double shift rempe next game.
pull one of top 6 (not jack)
I would say pull Roslovic, put Chytil in his place, and get Rempe back on the 4th line.
Joking aside it’s one game the team is 8-2 (soon to be 8-3)in the playoffs the lineup probably gets at least one more game.
clone Rempe 5 times – play him and the clones exclusively on the bottom 6 for the redt of the series
play rempe on 2nd line (mika) and 4th line
can he play 30 min/game
THATS HOW you do it!
TROUBA
That was it right there. They couldn’t put it in because everyone skated past the net.
huge pp
One good hit and a bunch of shots scramble and a post, there you go home fans. Enjoy!
Look what actually happens when Trouba lines someone up….. This isn’t rocket science.
Rumor is Rempe has a huge PP.
NOW. RIGHT NOW.
Now this is it. Lol
just to spite you guys janice will get a goal
I’ll buy Janice a gallon of French perfume if he pots one here
rempe on pp rest of series
THIS is how they needed to come out in the 1st period. There’s NO excuse for this.
This one’s done
Rempe in for the pp with Alex manning the point.
AA 🤣
craig
fla has something to say about that. maybe they’re better?
If we can’t capitalize on the pp against these guys then we’re screwed.
They are definitely far from a great PK.
Alex……I’m guessing you don’t like Rempe.
Now we finally have a hockey game. Too bad it’ll be 5 minutes long
when do they pull 31
wtf
I guess Bob doesn’t have a thing about not having shutouts in the playoffs
2 bullsh1t goals
There it is. What a f@#$en idiot
PP looked good, not good enough but good.
Own goal! Not even chance for a good fireplace
Nice tip, dip sh*t.
Welp
In situations like this 2-0 is the same as 20-0
that was something
WTF did I just witness…. Goodnight everyone.
rich
don’t think he’s God
treated as such by some here and on twitter
thats bad
what a waste of money for these fans. Wow
That’s our #1 pick!
In comparison, their #1 picks are Ekblad and Barkov….
How fitting 😭
Laffy on the scoresheet
Igor handling puck like a grenade; was Hank giving him tips?
It’s a long series.
To be fair, Ekblad sucks at defense, we’re just not talking advantage of it.
Can Drury fire Lavy & take over the bench. Lav wasn’t prepared, didn’t put te right team on ice, Ranges playing while worrying about being crushed. A waste.
does Igor get the primary assist?
They finally got one, but it was in the wrong goal. Friday becomes must win. Another one like this and get out the clubs.
thank you rangers and greedy fans trying to win lotto with prices
if prices were somewhat lower i;d have gone
We scored more on ourselves in this one. Smfh
Just get a goal to show you can do it.
Bobrovsky gives up huge rebounds and they’re not ready for any of them
Wake-up call.
keep quitting fellas
again – perfect game for florida. Can’t play any better.
rangers have lots of room for improvement. Lots to build off of. Forget the Lafreniere bad lick
This will be Bob’s first shutout of the playoffs btw
Sticks on the ice. Who was that floating around in front with his stock up by his waist as the Mika rebound upped right by hm?
If this continues, even at $57 a ticket in not looking forward to watching this live on Sunday.
you wish you went to this game? Torture
ENG on the way. This reminds of the close out when Tampa best them twice in the Conference finals.
say goodnight Gracie
nope
very thankful prices were so high so i didn’t go
it’ll be a long series. Not worried at all.
great game by florida. Rangers will make the appropriate adjustments.
Faster and harder is how they need to play.
And
Goodnight Gracie.
not worried at all. Florida as advertised. Rangers with lots of room for improvement.
And there it is. They played not to lose.
No shots, no goals.
No goals, no wins.
No wins, no Cup.
Rempe will dress for game 2
I understand what you are saying. However, he is a jolt of electricity and he has some ability. The kid is going to be an effective hockey player. In my opinion of course.
I have not seen a single opponent look that shizitty against the Panthers since the regular season.
Rempe has done more for the team game in 4:00 than the guy playing in his spot has in 8:20
how did fla lose to vegas last year
well they had a ton of injuries going to finals especially tkachuk
i won’t be watching post game on msg
Out: rosolivic, Chytil, Weinberg
in: Rempe, Edstrom, Brodzinksi
Olga….is that an Algebra equation?
This is the one team I did not want to have a game like that against. Who tf were those guys in Ranger sweaters because it wasn’t any team that’s shown up in these playoffs before. Effin embarrassment.
Looked like the Panthers want the cup and the Rangers want the golf.
I shut it off. Please tell me they got booed off the ice.
i really sanded cccp asking him to take this game
Mika the Baker had a dozen turnovers
i told him I wasn’t touching it and I’m glad as hell that I’m not. Lol
rangers didn’t play that bad – but they did not play on their toes enough, and did not initiate enough. Especially on home ice. When they started to get it going, there were 5 minutes left and it was too late as Puddy Tats benefitted from some puck luck.
who does rempe replace on pp
i guess kreider? since rempe will be massive in front of bob
obviously i hate the hype on the guy. can do no wrong.
And Lafrenière
More like a logic exercise, rich.
can Jones play wing?
It’s perfectly ok. We know what we’re up against now & we can better prepare for the next game & the rest of this round. They still need to win 3 more games. No jumping off high places yet. It’s a long series. We found ways all year long.
everyone on SN: too passive, put in Rempe
If Fox didn’t improve from a week off then the Rangers aren’t getting much more out of him this postseason. Huge problem for the team as he drives so much of the game both breaking out of D zone and moving puck in the O zone.
They need to figure out another way. Does Rempe play D? (jk sorry Alex)
wwpd you may have point; Fox is definitely playing hurt. Jones would be my answer. He fast and has a good shot
Alex – it’s not hype. The team plays better with him in the lineup. They play on their toes and initiate physicality. What we saw tonight was classic vanilla Ranger hockey. If you’re cool with the vanilla, I get it.
But personally, I’ve had enough vanilla from my hockey team. If they’re going to go down to a great team, they need to do it kicking and screaming.
Looks like Chytl won’t be playing next game
that was the most depressing last 3 minutes of a game that ive ever seen
At least we were up 3 to zip on Carolina before we laid this kind of egg.
played most of year without rempe
again according to some he can do no wrong
yet everyone else on the team gets sh*t on
chytil showed on a play with seconds left why he is always getting hurt – never aware of what’s coming his way
BAHAHAHAHA!!
Hits were 29-28. Gotta love the garden statisticians.
alex we played 78 without Chytil
The 2 goals were on Igor. One a whiff and the other a terrible play on the puck. The Rangers had chances. They did not bury them and often missed the net. I don’t think they were outplayed as much as the announcers said. They are never volume shooters. The key to playing these guys is to not fall behind them.
Fox and Gus are problems. They won’t pull Fox at home. He’s small but rested, put pony Jones in for Gus
Nobody said Rempe is perfect except maybe you, Alex.
Rempe is a wildcard, an unfinished product, a kid who actually injects a little energy into this team. And so what if he gets called? Panthers powerplay is probably the least scary aspect of their team.
i am not a chytil fan. i bang the drum to buy him out at 1/3 rate this summer
TYM @11:06 for the win.
the Panthers executed a PERFECT road game. The Rangers made mistakes and were too respectful/passive. This will change.
admiral
i’m saying he’s far from perfect. but excuses for him and credit to him. we score on pp or pk. lets give rempe credit right .not from me
plenty of hockey guys say rempe changes the rangers for the better
but we have norm and Alex pouring cold water on the poor kid any chance they get
Rangers need to adjust faster. You only get a limited number of chances against this team. Take shots even if you don’t love them because you probably aren’t getting a second or third look
Two posts!! Ugh. Woulda been Yuge goals.
I liked the shift right before PP with the Trouba hit and the multiple chances in the zone that resulted from that momentum swing
Rempe isn’t about him scoring, nice when it happens. Its about how he affects play of the opponent and how that improves chances for the other guys who do score
To make a comparison to music:
with Rempe, the Rangers team play with the swagger and power of a Led Zeppelin.
without Rempe, the Rangers resemble the Smiths. Surely a great band with great songs, but in the end the Smiths just don’t rock like Zeppelin.
Get Rempe in there. I don’t care if it’s Roslovic or Chytil that sits.
we played way too slow today.
Turnover central especially Trouba Laffy and lindgren
the selfie goal was mostly on Igor as he tried to do too much to play puck when his defender gustof was going to win the puck race
would be nice if we played more like the canes played against us. Throw everything at net and go for rebounds and tips
Alex,
do you prefer Zeppelin or the Wallflowers?
The espn talking heads agree Rempe should play. Did they opine who should sit? That’s the hard part?
Still think Lav comes back with same lineup and tries first to coach his way out of it, rather than pull his recently recovered $4M offensive winger back out when the team isn’t generating offense
AA, don’t you dare diss The Smiths like that!
wwpd, but one of the main reasons they’re not generating offense is because they’re getting beat up to hell and back.
options:
Sit Roslovic. Put Chytil on the first line RW. When more defense is needed, move up Vesey.
Sit Wennberg. Let Chytil center the 3rd line between Cullye and Kakko.
I think you’re right, wwpd, Laviolette will probably keep the same lineup (why fix what isn’t broken?) and wait for game 3 if something drastic is needed. I think it will be up to the guys in the lineup to raise their intensity before Rempe gets a lick.
lets buy out Chytil before playoffs over to make Alex happy
Ev
No disrespect to the Smiths, I actually said they’re a great band. But they would get literally blown off the stage by Led Zeppelin in both bands’ heydays.
the band I should’ve compared tonight’s Rangers vanilla performance to is the Wallflowers. That’s what we saw tonight except for the Foxwoods Final 5. It was 55 minutes of Wallflowers.
YAWN.
I can live with that one. I’ll let it slide…this time.
rempe will play
be on bench most of game
but if we win it will be due to him
i want him to play because the complaining about him not playing will be too much to take.
he wasn’t on team most of season folks
this is like avery 2.0
Buti would rather that I had sat in a pitch black room and listened to the Smiths tonight than have watched this atrocity.
Alex, we didn’t play like this most of the season. We also didn’t play like this against the Panthers before, nor them against us.
Regular season is history. Leave it in the past. It means nothing.
if the Stanley Cup winning coach feels Rempe needs to play, he will play.
the rest of us are just Keyboarded Conjecturers.
Let’s see who steps up for game 2.
Alex you may be happier just watching the games and avoiding message boards if people’s comments bother you that much.
Live and let live.
As much as Rampe energizes the crowd he’s just not ready for Stanley Cup hockey. Sorry. The bottom line is that the score was close minus empty net, the dilly by Lafreniere and the wiff by Shesterken. As Yogi would say “It’s not over till it’s over”
Glass half full: is just one game!
Glass half empty: 4-game losing streak, minus one good period!
Adversity builds character, we’ll find out soon enough what they’re made.
D needs to make breakout pass decisions faster; every second is another 10 yds covered by Panthers forecheck. They press their D up which is why Schneider had that break away. Going to need to post up a forward in middle of ice at red line and force of their D to slide over and then attack that vacated side.
they also went wide around NYR’s soft 1-3-1 zone. Need adjustments for Game 2.
Winnable game but need more zone time and traffic…not sure what Rempes 5 minutes would do to generate offense …not sure Lav makes lineup changes but we will see
Due to the cap strap, I honestly believe this is the cores last shot at the prize. If they can’t get it done this year they probably have it the wall.
The Rangers will not be losing anything to free agency beyond Weinberg, Gustafson, Rosy Palms.
they’ll get a RW and some role guys – hopefully heavier ones.
still hope chytil is gone one way or the other this summer
be nice if kakko is gone too
if some guys need surgery in off season could be problem starting next year (fox?, trouba?)
must win friday or would be short series
Statistician had the hits basically even. Fire these guys; they’re wasting our time.
Oddly enough, this game was still winnable right up to Frenchie’s faux-pas.
We spent a good part of the night throwing away the puck to avoid hits.
Maybe Norm & Alex are current or former NHL or AHL referees?
Exactly cooscoos, Panthers certainly weren’t doing that. Hit counts don’t seem to differentiate between a squish into the boards & a teeth rattler. Maybe Rangers had 2 or 3 rattlers (Trouba & Cuylle) vs 20+ for Cats.
unless you’re panarin, I want to see you finishing hits. It’s that simple. If Phil doesn’t feel comfortable doing that, play someone else. Same with Kakko
Best wishes and get well soon to Sam Rosen. He has been a part of this long journey we have all been on and hope he is able to get back behind the mic. soon.
For the Rangers to win something has to change on Friday. With this coaching staff I have confidence that they will figure it out.
Game was boring as hell and it was 1-0 for a very long time. We all know that this team has another gear or two. Hope they show up Friday and make a series of this. If not it is going to be a very LONG summer.
LGR
Most of the night looked like Pelham High School JV versus Boston College first year scholarship recruits.
NEW POST.
We have seen them put up stinkers like this and then come back strong. OTOH this is 4 bad games in a row one of which they miraculously won. This group seems to hit the wall in the playoffs. We’ll know on Friday if game 4 against the Canes was the wall or if this is just a speed bump. This was a very boring hockey game. The NBA had a much better product last night. I’m interested to see Valley’s chart for this game. Were there any HD chances? None of the goals came off one. Maybe Bobo made a difficult save it that one flurry they had in the third. In game 5 against the Canes they had 1 HD chance. This looks to be in the same category.