Sergei Bobrovsky saw 23 shots on Wednesday night, but he stopped all of them.
The Panthers netminder earned himself a 3-0 victory in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals at the Garden, handing the Rangers their first blank appearance of the postseason and achieving the rare feat for just the second time since the start of the 2023-24 season.
The last time the Blueshirts were held scoreless was on Dec. 9 in a 4-0 loss to the rival Capitals.
Washington was also the last visiting team to earn a shutout win at MSG on Dec. 27, 2022, also with a 4-0 result.
But you’d have to go back even further to find the last team to hold the Rangers scoreless on home ice in the playoffs.
The last time they failed to score in a playoff game at the Garden was during the 2016 postseason, when they were beaten 5-0 by the Penguins in Game 4 in what was ultimately a first-round exit.
It’s not like the Rangers couldn’t have avoided that fate in Game 1.
Braden Schneider hit the post on a breakaway in the first period, and Alexis Lafreniere was also stopped by an iron on the power play in the third period.
Center Mika Zibanejad said after the loss: “I think we feel like we’re getting better and we’re looking at ourselves first and foremost and thinking about what we have to improve on.” . “There is room for improvement, but we can raise the level.”
The situation may not get any easier in the second leg.
The Post follows coverage of the Rangers in the NHL playoffs.
The Rangers are fifth in the playoffs in goals allowed per game with 3.18, while the Panthers have the toughest defense of any team remaining in the playoffs, allowing just 2.25 goals per game.
This isn’t surprising considering Florida conceded the fewest points in the league during the regular season with 198 points, tied with the Jets for just 2.41 points per game.
To make matters worse, Florida’s 3.5 points per game ranks second among teams competing for the Cup behind the Oilers.
Rangers manager Peter Laviolette put the line through the blender during the second half of Game 1, to no avail.
They’ll have to go back to square one if they want to avoid leaving town in an 0-2 hole.
