It was about 30 seconds after Matt Rempe had sent the Garden into euphoria by scoring the first goal of the playoffs when Washington’s Vincent Iorio tried to knock the puck out from the Caps’ right side.
But it was then that the unfortunate Iorio came across Alexis Lafrenière, who was taking part in a puck-hunting game. Lafrenière buried the defender in the wall, picked up the loose puck while his opponent was prone and sent the puck to Vincent Trocheck who fed it to Artemi Panarin, who then beat Charlie Lindgren from the right point for a ahead 2-0 at 4:50 of the second.
It was the most notable hit of Lafrenière’s five, tying Jacob Trouba for first on the club in that category. It reminds us of the way Lafreniere rushed toward the goal in his first playoff game against the Penguins two years ago.
It was also an indication of how the Rangers expect – and can expect – to approach the playoffs.
“I obviously expected that (physicality) from him and I expect it from everyone,” Panarin said after the Blueshirts’ 4-1 Game 1 win over the Caps on Sunday afternoon. “It’s important that we play physical and when he made a good check and helped us score, it was wonderful to see.”
There wasn’t a lot of artistry in this one. Keeping the artistry to a minimum is the Caps’ only hope of making this a competitive series. They want to cover their tracks. They want to disrupt the flow. The more they can keep the game in tight spaces, the better their chances of pulling off an 8-1 upset.
Perhaps that explains the first 20 minutes in which the teams combined for three – one, two, three – shots at five-on-five. The Rangers probably deserved a medal for maintaining their interest through long periods of nothingness as much as for maintaining their discipline and mindset, as they did as the game evolved and the Caps looked to make move things around.
“I mean, obviously, there’s a point in the game where, I don’t want to say they take liberties, but they definitely come at it a little bit harder in the third period,” K’Andre Miller said, who impressed as a team leading 21:10 of ice. “I think we played smart realizing there was a long series ahead of us and a long playoff run.”
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Blueshirts have transitioned into the regular season quite well. They stayed there when the Caps managed to plug it. Their numerical disadvantage was exceptional. They weren’t frustrated when the officiating crew invented a new definition for “charge” so they could penalize Rempe at 2:07 of the first period, 34 seconds into No. 73’s first shift.
Essentially every NHL coach likes to think of himself as a four-line coach. Alain Vigneault has always proudly proclaimed himself as such, even if his fourth lines were the most surprised people in the building to learn this about their coach.
But Peter Laviolette is a four-line coach. He is now, at least. He’s now after a first game in which the Jimmy Vesey-Barclay Goodrow-Rempe unit scored twice and recorded a 74.45 percent expected goal share in 6:45 of significant ice time and excessive.
Because while Rempe scored the first goal by converting Vesey’s spectacular pass after taking a pass under the goal line from Goodrow, it was Vesey who made it 3-0 at 6:23 of the second with a strike from the right on a goal. Goodrow’s win in the right circle faceoff… while the Caps’ Beck Malestyn was lying on his stomach after colliding with Rempe while trying to get to Vesey.
Yes, Chris Kreider scored on a breakaway backhand to close out the scoring, Panarin scored a goal and Igor Shesterkin was sharp when things got a little downhill in front of him, but the Rangers’ fourth line dominated this one .
They had 11 appearances, five in the neutral zone and six in the offensive zone where the three attackers set the tone for their team. Rempe sets the tone for his character Johnny Appleseed. The line sets the tone with its working-class philosophy.
“I think we’re just trying to play a simple game, just trying to get the puck in, forecheck, be physical,” said Goodrow, who is made for this time of year . “We’re just trying to keep the play going in the offensive zone and generate momentum for our team.”
The Blueshirts played methodically. They played with composure. They defended strongly. They played with the discipline of a No. 1 seed against a No. 8 seed. They did the job.
The Rangers replaced them.
New York Post
