The Rangers were not quick enough, were not hard enough, were not sharp enough and were not committed enough for a Game 1 of the conference finals. The Panthers, they were all the things that the Blueshirts were not in Wednesday’s 3-0 match at the Garden.
All this talk about menace that preceded the Puddy Tats and it turns out that Florida’s physicality manifested itself in puck battles and in territorial battles. The Puddy Tats took advantage of Ranger carelessness to own the puck for shifts at a time below the hash marks.
There were times that the Blueshirts looked like the kid in the school yard who’d had his hat stolen and was desperately trying to intercept it as the bullies tossed it back and forth over his head.
The game was 1-0 for 39:46 from the time Matthew Tkachuk beat Igor Shesterkin from the left circle at 16:26 of the first to the time Alexis Lafreniere inadvertently deflected a Carter Verhaeghe pass past his own goaltender for 2-0 at 16:12 of the third period but it never quite seemed as if the game was in the balance.
Losing the opener of a best-of-seven is nothing over which to panic, even at home. The Panthers dropped the opener of their second-round series to the Bruins and recovered to win three straight and close out the series in six. There is forgiveness for losing an opener. There is forgiveness for the Rangers falling behind in a series for the first time this tournament.
But do you know what was a bit odd? That head coach Peter Laviolette, who has talked about the importance of being able to play four lines as it has applied to decisions regarding whether Matt Rempe would or would not dress, would go down in this one using about five forwards for the third period.
Laviolette had a full complement of players from which to choose to dress for the first time since Filip Chytil went down for the regular-season count on Nov. 2 in the team’s 10th game. The center had returned for Game 3 of the Carolina series after a 188-day absence related to post-concussion recovery but then came down with an illness and reported soreness that sidelined him for the remainder of the second round.
No. 72 was available for this one. So was Blake Wheeler, who has been sidelined since suffering a gruesome leg injury on Feb. 15. Matt Rempe and Jonny Brodzinski were also healthy options for Laviolette.
The coach went with Chytil. There is no world in which the best Rangers lineup, the one with the most speed, skill and creativity, would not include Chytil. Of course No. 72 was in and he was back on the left with Alex Wennberg in the middle and Kaapo Kakko on the right, the same unit from Raleigh.
Of course Chytil was in for this one.
Chytil did not get on the ice from 4:22 of the third period to 18:53, 12 seconds after an empty-netter sealed it, and was nailed by Niko Mikkola on his final shift. He got three shifts worth 2:38 in the third and a sum of 9:17. It was bizarre, even if there was one brief shining Kids Line moment in which Chytil skated with Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.
“Fil was fine, it was just the way the game was winding down there, the timeouts, the [long video review on a negated Panthers goal],” Laviolette said. “We had fresh players out there all the time so we ended up double-shifting our guys quite a bit to try and chase that goal.”
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Chytil actually did get a shift on the right with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, both of whom were stone cold in this one. Artemi Panarin double-shifted a bit and so did Lafreniere. Roslovic, Kakko, Wennberg, Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow got short-shifted and so did Will Cuylle.
This isn’t on one player or one line. The power play got two opportunities and couldn’t crack the code. The top guys seemed a step and a thought behind. The Rangers weren’t fast enough. The Rangers weren’t assertive enough.
If Chytil has been gone for too long to be considered a difference-maker in a 1-0 game against and if Laviolette won’t play the fourth line under that scenario, then the Blueshirts might need Matt Rempe’s energy for Friday’s Game 2 against a team that had this one buttoned up from start to finish. A bit of chaos might help.
Alternatively, I would not be shocked if Wheeler replaces Roslovic in the lineup and on the line with Kreider and Zibanejad. Roslovic’s game is based on IQ and subtlety. Wheeler, at 6-foot-5, the Rangers aren’t going to beat the Panthers by being subtle.
For so long, Laviolette had few lineup decisions to make.
He’s sure got some now.
