The Rangers lost by just one point in the third period of Game 1 of the conference finals against the Panthers when goaltender Igor Shesterkin went wide in front of the goal and knocked down a loose puck.
The only thing is, we didn’t get very far.
The puck then landed right in front of Panthers forward Carter Verhage, who tried to pass it to Matthew Tkachuk who was rushing into the net, but Alexis Lafreniere inadvertently sent the puck to the side of Shesterkin. I flicked it away.
Sam Bennett then scored an empty-net goal to give Florida a 3-0 win over the Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Captain Jacob Trouba said the team didn’t feel the need to say anything to the 2020 No. 1 overall pick about the gaffe, saying “everyone has been in a situation like that.” Ta. “I mean, every defenseman does that. Just a tough bounce. Obviously that’s not what he was trying to do.
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“It’s nothing to worry about. It’s probably gone from his mind by now. Just one of those unfortunate breaks.”
It was just one of several self-inflicted errors the Rangers made in the series opener, allowing 12 points to the Panthers’ two.
But Lafreniere’s was the most expensive.
The 22-year-old forward finished as a minus-3 on the night with three shots on goal and two blocks.
He also tied with the Panthers’ Ryan Romberg for the most hits of any forward on the ice with five.
After 11 playoff games, Lafreniere has 10 points (four goals, six assists), third-most on the team.
“I don’t think anybody paid attention to that play,” Jimmy Vesey said. “He had a chance to tie the game in the third period. He’s been a big part of our team all year. He played great in the playoffs. We’ll take that as a team and adapt in the next game.”
The Rangers stopped all three of the Panthers’ power plays Wednesday night and have prevented 30 of their past 32 penalties since Game 3 of the first round against Washington.
Ryan Lingren skated on Wednesday morning after three days of on-ice practice that the Rangers called “maintenance” before appearing in Game 1.
Matt Rempe missed his second straight game for medical reasons, his fourth time in the past five games.
