Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves as the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 in the opening game of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist for Florida who picked up their fourth straight post-season win on the road.
Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 3:34 left in the first period, scoring from just above the left circle after a pass from Swede Gustav Forsling.
It was Tkachuk’s fifth goal of the playoffs.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson thought he had doubled the advantage midway through the third period with a wrist shot.
But after a Rangers challenge for goaltender interference, the effort was disallowed with the video review spotting Ryan Lomberg had impeded Igor Shesterkin.
Bobrovsky’s shutout was the second of his career in the post-season and 11 of his saves came in the third period as New York pushed for an equalizer.
“In the last 10 minutes of the game that’s where he has to be Sergei,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice.
Florida extended their lead through a Verhaeghe shot which deflected off Alexis Lafreniere. Sam Bennett scored an empty-net goal with 1:19 remaining to make sure of the win.
Maurice said that his goaltender had delivered big moments after long spells when he was not called upon.
“You have to be a veteran goalie to do what he did. Sit for a while, and then make huge saves,” he said of Bobrovsky.
The win was just the second shutout victory on the road for the Panthers in franchise history and their first since 1996.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was not surprised by how difficult it had been to break down Florida.
“They have been tight throughout the playoffs, they have been extremely tight. But I thought we had opportunities that we didn’t cash in on,” he said.
“I think we got a little bit sharper in the third period but our execution has got to get better, and not only in the offensive zone,” he added.
The teams return to Madison Square Garden on Friday for game two of the best-of-seven series.
