Rangers don’t care.
They don’t care about the Panthers’ grunt or physicality.
Never mind the Panthers’ habit of getting behind opponents and trying to infuriate them.
Never mind that the Panthers are willing to do whatever it takes to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.
Nothing changes for the Rangers.
They’re not going to let their final Eastern Conference opponent dictate the type of games they want to play.
“We know they’re a physical team,” Rangers defenseman and captain Jacob Trouba said after practice Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t think it’s changed the way we approach it as a group. I think it’s part of our game, when we’re at our best we’re a physical group. I don’t think it’s something we’re going to go [to be] Too physically strong. We want to play our game, the way we’ve had success all year. Speed and physicality are the keys to our game. I think every playoff game requires physicality at some point. It will be a fast and physical series for both teams. ”
The Panthers led the NHL in hits during the regular season.
They’re just behind the Bruins in the playoffs, but if Boston loses, the Panthers will quickly surpass them.
But with that aggression come key opportunities for the Rangers.
The Panthers were whistled for 291 penalties during the regular season, the second-most in the NHL.
He was called 51 times more in the playoffs, the third-most.
And the Rangers were active on the power play. They scored 65 power play goals in the regular season, the fourth-most in the NHL.
His 11 power play goals in the playoffs are tied for second place.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Rangers in the NHL playoffs
“They play a hard-fought game,” Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. “They’re not the only team in the league that plays hard. …One of the biggest things heading into this series is we’re trying to establish a game, a plan, an identity that worked for us. I think that’s true.
“We understand how Florida plays, but we have to work on playing our game.”
The Rangers are just 1-2-0 against the Panthers this year, but the last time they met was on March 23, when the Rangers won in a 4-3 shootout.
In the first meeting, the Panthers defeated the Rangers, 34-24, but in the other two meetings, the Rangers outscored the Panthers, 30-22 and 28-24, respectively.
In other words, the Rangers don’t feel the need to play any more physically than they already have.
“I think our players rose to the challenge,” Laviolette said. “We could play our game, but we could play any game that came our way. I think back to when we played Florida this year, and I don’t think it was a big deal. I didn’t think so. I know there were questions at the beginning of the year about how to handle certain teams and their physicality. I thought our players did a really good job.”
