The New York Rangers started Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Florida Panthers with both a figurative and literal bang.
After dropping Game 1 to the visiting Panthers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, New York got on the board just four minutes into Friday’s action when Vincent Trocheck took a sublime pass from Adam Fox to beat Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.
And that’s when things got violent.
While Fox and Trocheck celebrated the early goal, Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe was retaliating against New York’s Alexis Lafrenière for an open-ice hit that helped clear a path for the centering pass that led to the goal.
‘[Matthew] Tkachuk’s got Trocheck pinned down, Lafrenière jumps into the fray,’ ESPN color commentator Ray Ferraro exclaimed amid the chaos. ‘There’s three or four wrestling matches going on! This is a perfect New York start.’
While Fox and Trocheck celebrated the early goal, Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe was retaliating against New York’s Alexis Lafrenière for an open-ice hit
Alexis Lafreniere of the New York Rangers fights Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers
When the dust settled, Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, and Lafrenière were all handed roughing penalties, resulting in a one-man advantage for New York that the Rangers failed to convert.
The Panthers ultimately tied the game 14 minutes later on a power play goal from Verhaeghe after New York’s Barclay Goodrow was whistled for interference.
If things seemed a bit chippier on Friday, it may be because the Rangers were looking for a way to slow down a Panthers attack that scored three times on Wednesday.
‘They have a lot of speed on their team,’ K’Andre Miller said after Wednesday’s loss, as quoted by ESPN. ‘I think limiting their speed throughout the neutral zone, trying to get hold-ups and trying to give us a little bit more time breaking the puck out of the D zone [are key].
‘Obviously, when teams are coming that hard and pressuring you with that type of energy, I think [it’s about] breaking down their forecheck with talking, puck moving and just trying to be a little bit firmer,’ he added. ‘Our execution can be a little bit better coming out of the D zone.’
To bolster that defense, and perhaps give the Panthers something to think about on the ice, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette opted to dress 6-foot-8 rookie bruiser Matt Rempe on Friday.
The 21-year-old winger was inactive in Game 1, but was in action on Friday on Laviolette’s fourth line alongside Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow.
Former Rangers players-turned-analysts Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Hendrik Lundqvist all pushed for Rempe’s return after Wednesday’s loss.
‘Maybe they should think about putting Rempe in the lineup,’ Messier said on ESPN.
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