Artemi Panarin led the Rangers in scoring with 120 points during the regular season, while captain Chris Kreider was third and Mika Zibandeg was fifth.
Through three games in the Eastern Conference Finals, the trio only managed one combined point against the Panthers, aided by Panarin.
Panarin finally got results with two assists in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4 at Florida on Tuesday, but the team’s leading scorer in the regular season has yet to score a goal in this series, and to make matters worse, Kreider and Zibanejad have failed to produce any.
Despite the stellar play of Vincent Trocheck and the continued production of Alexis Lafreniere (both scored on Tuesday), without more help from their most established offensive weapon, it will be tough for the Rangers to win this series, much less their first Stanley Cup in 30 years.
Without that, the Rangers had to rely heavily on Igor Shesterkin, who was outstanding against the Panthers, making 37 saves.
But they were no match for a quick, powerful shot from Sam Reinhart just 1 minute, 12 seconds into overtime after Florida started the power play with a penalty from returning Blake Wheeler.
Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers have yet to lose in the playoffs this season, and one more loss could change that.
Goals from Panarin, Kreider and Zibanejad would help.
Today’s back cover
Good memory
While Luis Severino is on his way to reviving his career with the Mets, he still has his eye on the other side of town, as the Yankees continue to thrive despite being without their former No. 1 starting pitcher.
One of the reasons the Yankees remain the best team in the American League is their scheduled starter for Wednesday’s game against the Angels, Luis Gil.
Severino said he got to know Gill, who turns 26 next week, after he was acquired from the Twins in a trade in 2018 for outfielder Jake Cave.
Severino said he coached Gil because both right-handers are from the Dominican Republic.
“He was in the minor leagues when we met, but I always try to talk to the young players in the Dominican Republic,” Severino said. “I invited him over to my house in Tampa and we played dominoes together.”
Now recovering from Tommy John surgery, Gill is off to a great start in 2024 with a dynamic four-seam fastball and a nice changeup.
“I’m really happy for him,” Severino said. “He has a great fastball and he showed everybody what he can do before he got hurt. Now he’s pitching unbelievably well.” [well]He’s young, healthy and capable of anything.”
And Gill’s development shows the difficulty of predicting what the future holds.
Pitching coach Matt Blake recently recalled visiting the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic shortly after taking the Yankees job and meeting with Severino, Gary Sanchez and others.
That’s when he first saw Gil, along with Deivi Garcia and Luis Medina, arguably the team’s best pitching prospects at the time.
“Some people thought he might be the best player on the whole team,” Coach Blake said of Gill. “Now, we know his arm talent, but we probably didn’t expect him to be this good and this fast.”
Gill has helped the Yankees thrive without Gerrit Cole for the first two months of this season. Nestor Cortez led the Yankees to their 15th consecutive game of pitching five-plus innings with two or fewer runs allowed on Tuesday night, but the relief pitchers and defense conspired to lead the Yankees to a 4-3 loss to the Angels, dropping them to 37-19.
Cole posted a 2.01 ERA in 62 ⅔ innings over his first 10 starts last season on his way to winning his first Cy Young Award. Gill posted a 2.11 ERA in 55 ⅓ innings over 10 starts this year.
Gil enters Wednesday’s game leading MLB among starting pitchers with 4.39 hits allowed per nine innings, nearly one less hit per nine innings than second-place finisher on the list, Philadelphia Ranger Suarez.
“I think what he’s doing right now, if he stays healthy, he can continue to do it,” Blake said. “It’s repeatable.”
Garcia, meanwhile, is pitching as a relief pitcher for Triple-A Charlotte after posting a 7.07 ERA with the White Sox in April, while Medina finished last season with a 5.42 ERA with Oakland and is recovering from an injury suffered during spring training.
Trivia Quiz
In a landmark update in the history of baseball numbers, Major League Baseball will incorporate Negro League statistics into its official record book.
The change saw the legendary Josh Gibson become the all-time leader in batting average (.372, ahead of Ty Cobb) and slugging percentage (.718, ahead of Babe Ruth) as well as leading the league in several hitting categories in one season (he batted .466 in 1943).
There are also many more subtle edits. This update brings Willie Mays’ career hit total to 3,293. Three years before making his debut with the New York Giants, for which Negro League team did he get 10 hits as a 17-year-old?
(Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)
Center infielder
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns made the obvious statement on Tuesday: “We’re not playing like a playoff team.”
He added that it’s too early to analyze the team, but part of the problem seems to be two players who aren’t expected to go anywhere: Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor.
Two years ago, the Mets looked pretty solid in the middle of their infield, with McNeil posting an .836 OPS among second basemen that was third in the majors and Lindor posting a .788 OPS that was fifth among shortstops.
Lindor is completing the first year of a 10-year, $341 million contract, and McNeil signed a four-year, $50 million deal to remain in Queens after the 2022 season.
Neither investment looks to have paid off for Steve Cohen so far, as both infielders’ performances have plummeted over the last year or so.
Lindor was 2-for-9 with one home run and five strikeouts in Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Dodgers for a .651 OPS, good for 18th out of 21 shortstops qualified this season.
McNeil was hitless in seven at-bats, including a pop fly in the ninth inning of Game 1 despite having a chance to win the game, and his batting average of .633 was good for 16th among the 20 second basemen qualified.
According to some scouts, the decline isn’t surprising.
“McNeil’s getting older, Lindor’s getting older,” one National League scout said.
The Mets are one of just three teams with both a second baseman (McNeil is 32) and a shortstop (Lindor turned 30 in November) over 30 years old. The other two are the Rangers (Marcus Semien and Kyle Seager) and the Diamondbacks (Ketel Marte and Kevin Newman).
Like the Mets (22-32), Texas and Arizona are both under .500 in winning percentages.
There are plenty of other issues plaguing the Mets, from a shaky starting rotation to an overworked and understaffed bullpen to poor play at third base and Francisco Alvarez’s lengthy injury absence.
But there’s no denying there’s a black hole in the middle of the infield.
What we’re reading 👀
🏀 Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves won Game 4, avoiding the sweep and postponing the cruelty of Nets fans having to watch Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals.
⛳ Lexi Thompson has announced she will retire from golf at the end of the LPGA season at age 29. “It’s hard being out here. It can get lonely,” Thompson said.
🏀 Caitlin Clark had a WNBA career-high 30 points (including three 3-pointers and 13 free throws), six assists, five rebounds, three blocks, three steals and seven turnovers as the Fever fell to 1-7.
⚾ Mike Vaccaro of the Washington Post called Angel Hernandez “the worst umpire in baseball in an era when literally every pitch was available on video.”
🏀 St. John’s players Chris Redlam and Jordan Dingle have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA seeking extra eligibility, but this will likely be their final time playing after a judge denied the players’ request for relief.
Trivia Answers
Birmingham Black Barons
