Rangers set tone with early physical play in Game 2 victory

The beginning made the end possible.

In that moment, the goal felt like more than just a goal.

It wasn’t that goal that decided the game. It came afterward, a goal by Rangers’ incredibly competitive and versatile center Barclay Goodrow with 14 minutes and 1 second left in overtime that sent the Garden into complete frenzy.

Goodrow’s goal gave the Rangers a 2-1 victory in Game 2 in front of a tense, ecstatic Garden crowd, tying the tense conference final series at 1-1.

But Rangers’ first goal felt incredibly meaningful, something that felt much more meaningful in the grand scheme of things than just one point on the scoreboard.

The Rangers were predictably down 1-0 in the series, but they got off to a dream start by storming through the Panthers in the opening minutes and taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Vincent Trocheck just 4 minutes, 12 seconds into the game.

The goal carried weight, the result of a physical strength that the Rangers completely lacked in Game 1. The atmosphere that was missing in Game 1 was beginning to emerge in the early stages of Game 2. The Rangers were fighting back.

Trocheck’s goal came after Alexis Lafreniere took a big shot on Panthers star Carter Verhaeghe in front of the goal, freeing the puck and creating space in front of Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for Trocheck to take a pass from Adam Fox and score a backdoor shot.

A lot happened in that one play.

After being shutout-lost in Game 1, the Rangers scored a goal, finally giving the Garden fans something to celebrate.

After a horrible first-game performance that included an own goal and multiple missed scoring chances, Lafreniere opened the scoring with some decisive physical play in this game.

“That goal was a credit to Raffi,” Fox said. “He might not have had the assist, but if he hadn’t thrown that goal… [check]they may be heading in the opposite direction. Instead, [the puck] Backdoor pass to Torok. When you get shut out, you want to get the first pass. You don’t want to hold it in too long and get frustrated. That was a really good play.”

Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said the Rangers were “not happy with how we played in Game 1,” adding that “it wasn’t our best play.”

That was the theme among the Rangers afterwards: the bad taste they got in Game 1 and the determination to right their wrongs there, letting Florida take control of the game.

“The emphasis was on playing our best,” Trocheck said. “We weren’t happy with how we played in Game 1, but I thought we came out tonight with a lot more energy right from the start.”

The Rangers hung in there and held off a confident, fearless Florida team that came into the night having won five of its six playoff games on the road this season, including four straight.

Before the game, the Panthers had a pretty good idea of ​​two things they would face on Friday.

— The Rangers have played primarily from the front, but for the first time in these playoffs they found themselves in a moment of desperation and launched a desperate, physical onslaught.

— And the Rangers’ rugged 6-foot-8.5 rookie, Matt Rempe, sat out Game 1 for medical reasons.

After the Panthers’ Game 1 win, coach Paul Maurice said he had a “pretty good idea” of what moves Rangers manager Peter Laviolette would make in Game 2. He didn’t say what those were, but you can bet Rempe’s play was at least one of them.

Rempe didn’t score the winning goal — in fact, he didn’t score at all — but his presence instantly energized the Garden crowd.

“I think he’s had a really positive impact,” Laviolette said.

Whether Rempe was the deciding factor in the Rangers’ victory will be in the eye of the beholder, but the big thing for the Rangers is that they regained home-ice advantage as both teams head to Florida for Game 3 on Sunday.

Before the game, the Panthers gave a shrug of approval to the possibility of Rempe playing, even though the Rangers have won 21 games, lost three and had one draw since adding Rempe to the lineup.

“The crowd definitely loves him,” Verhaeghe said. “He’s a big, physical guy. You have to be careful when he’s on the ice. But it’s not going to change our game no matter who they put in the lineup.”

At the very least, even if it was a small thing, it helped change the game for the Rangers.

It helped change the outcome of the most important match of their season.

It helped change the series.