The Panthers have a pretty good idea of what to expect in Game 2 at the Garden on Friday night, when a frantic, physical Rangers onslaught will likely include rugged 6-foot-8.5 rookie Matt Rempe.
Rempe sat out Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals for health reasons, and the Rangers lacked urgency and energy on Wednesday night, losing 3-0.
Despite many calling for Rempe to play in Game 2, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette was, as always, low-key about his lineup Friday morning after the team’s game-day skate.
At the Garden, where the Panthers held their morning practice, they reacted with a shrug to the possibility of Rempe being in the lineup.
The Cats weren’t exactly pounding their chests and yelling “Go for it!”, but their attitude was close, even though the Rangers were 20-3 and 1-draw when Rempe was in the lineup.
“A hit,” Panthers center Kevin Stenlund said when asked what Rempe’s participation would bring to the series.
“But if a team changes their lineup, it doesn’t matter to us if he’s there or not. We just need to focus on our group,” Stenlund said.
“If they want to change the lineup, obviously (Rempe) brings that energy,” Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said. “He brings that physical play. He’s obviously a big guy that gets on the forecheck and plays physical.”
“Obviously, if he’s in the lineup, that’s what they’re thinking: Go for the body,” Montour continued. “If he’s in, he’s in. If he’s not in, he’s not in. It doesn’t impact us or our game plan. We’re focused on the guys that we have here.”
Panthers center Carter Verhaeghe, one of the players who scored Florida’s goal on Wednesday when Alexis Lafreniere’s own goal went through Igor Shesterkin’s legs, said he knows exactly what effect the Rangers are hoping to get by having Rempe on the ice.
“The crowd definitely loves him,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s a big, physical player. We have to be careful of him when he’s on the ice. But other than that, we’re going to play our game. We’re going to continue to play physical and intense.”
“No matter who they put in the lineup, our game is not going to be different.”
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Panthers center Anton Randle echoed the sentiments of his teammates.
“He’s a big, physical guy and he obviously brings his size to the game,” Lundell said. “Other than that, I think we just want to play our game, our system.”
Panthers players and head coach Paul Maurice didn’t seem to mind when Florida defenseman Niko Mikola delivered a hard hit into the boards on Rangers center Filip Chytil with less than five seconds left in Wednesday night’s game.
In fact, they were defiant in defending Mykola against unnecessary blows.
“Clean,” Maurice responded matter-of-factly. “Nothing. Clean. (Chytil) had the puck. It was going to happen. If I’d just dumped the puck out, that (hit) wouldn’t have happened. I don’t know why I put the puck there.”
“If you have the puck, you’re going to get hit. If they have the puck, you’re going to get hit. This is a conference final. When the game is over, it’s over.”
Asked if he expected the Rangers to fight back in Game 2 after Mykola’s hit, Verhaeghe said, “(Chytil) is trying to score with five seconds left in a 3-0 game. That’s the cleanest hit I’ve ever seen. I don’t think so.”
“If there was going to be a comeback, I think it probably would have been then. Maybe they were trying to find a spot in the game to get him out, but if there was going to be anything, it would have been Wednesday,” Montour said.
“The game was still on and we wanted to play hard to finish it off and that’s the way it is.”
Stenlund summed up the Panthers’ expectations for Game 2: “I’m sure they’re going to get some hits and I’m sure we’re going to get some hits, so it’s going to be a fun game.”
