Peter Laviolette has worked on a few things before.
To be exact, 155 of them were earned on Sunday after the Rangers defeated the Capitals at the Garden 4-1 in the playoffs to take a 1-0 series lead.
So after a first period in which the Capitals played pretty close to the blueprint of how they need to play to have a chance in this series, there was zero panic level for the Rangers’ coach.
The Capitals were doing what they had to do, which was to disrupt the game and prevent the Rangers’ faster, more skilled offensive weapons from moving around and scoring opportunities.
In the first period, Washington had twice as many blocked shots (8) as Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (4), and the high-voltage Rangers had twice as many blocked shots (8) as Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (4). Lindgren only took seven shots.
The result was an unremarkable, scoreless opening 20 minutes that gave the Rangers what they hoped would be a very long postseason run. They’re chasing their first Stanley Cup in 30 years with a team well-positioned to hoist the Holy Grail at the end of the game. line.
As a byproduct of a scoreless first period, the sold-out Garden (18,006 strong at the start of the game and buzzing with postseason expectations) felt the buzz waning.
Laviolette, who as of Sunday afternoon had coached 154 playoff games, led three teams to the Stanley Cup Final, won one with the Hurricanes and lost to the Flyers and Predators, pushed a few buttons to change the game. It was at this time.
Laviolette leaned into the energy that rookie Matt Rempe and his fourth-line mates Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow brought to the building, sending that line out perhaps earlier than in the second period.
And it worked perfectly.
A wide-eyed 21-year-old Rempe reignited the buzz by scoring his first career goal in his first playoff game, giving Rangers a 1-0 lead. Two minutes and six seconds later, the Rangers were up 3-0.
Artemi Panarin, who set all-time records with 49 regular-season goals and 120 points, scored the middle of his three goals while Laviolette kept him on the ice with two shifts.
Laviolette later reminded him that this was something he did this season to give his leading scorer more time on the ice. But this was a big button pushed at the right time.
“There were a lot of things that went well defensively in the first period,” Laviolette said. “Offensively, they’ve been close to their best, so we talked about changing a few things after the first period to get a little bit better.
“The first period was pretty tight. They [the Capitals] We’ve played some pretty tight hockey. We knew it coming in. [Rempe goal] It was a big goal. Inject energy into buildings. That was the turning point of this match. ”
It was a turning point the veteran coach helped create, even if he was hesitant to take credit for it.
The Rangers have a better, stronger, more skilled team than Washington. They also have a team with more playoff experience than the Capitals. The same can be said for the players behind the bench.
Capitals coach Spencer Carberry, who replaced Laviolette in Washington after Laviolette was traded to the Rangers, coached in Sunday’s first playoff game.
Carberry didn’t do anything to lose the game. He’s playing against a Presidents Trophy winner and kind of a stacked deck.
But on this day, Laviolette made at least a small change.
“The hockey that they’ve been playing, and the hockey that we’ve been scouting, is that they’re a little more low-event,” Laviolette said of the Caps. “So the attack power is not as high and it is more difficult to generate.” [offense against them] In the same way. They are close to the vest. The match probably went the way we expected. ”
