Sergei Bobrovsky shuts out Rangers as Panthers win Game 1 of Eastern Conference final

Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t have to worry about too much early on Wednesday. Given the way the Florida Panthers have defended throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs to this point, that was pretty much the norm.

But then came the dreaded and anticipated final pushes by the New York Rangers.

With just under seven-and-a-half minutes left in regulation, Bobrovsky stopped a pair of Alex Wennberg shots, a third by Jacob Trouba got blocked and a fourth attempt by Wennberg — all in the span of 12 seconds — hit the post to keep Florida’s one-goal lead intact. He then stopped another series of shots — four over six seconds — when the Rangers pulled goaltender Igor Shesterkin for an extra attacker in a final act of desperation to mount a comeback.

“In the last 10 minutes of the game,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, “that’s where he has to be Sergei.”

Bobrovsky lived up to the task, stopping all 23 shots he faced as the Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final at Madison Square Garden.

It’s Bobrovsky’s second career postseason shutout. The other one? May 22, 2023 — exactly one year ago — in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“He made some huge saves,” Panthers captain Aleskander Barkov said. “We needed some help from him and he was there as always. He’s an unreal goalie and we’re lucky to have him.”

Bobrovsky could say the same about his defense. The Panthers didn’t give the Rangers too many chances against Bobrovsky through the first two periods, holding New York to just 12 shots on goal and 16 total scoring chances through the first 40 minutes. It’s a trademark this team throughout the regular season and the playoffs.

But Bobrovsky came up big when they needed him to in those 40 minutes.

Most notable were his saves at the start and end of the second period. In the opening minute of the frame, Bobrovsky denied a Will Cuylle wrist shot on a breakaway. And then in the final seconds, Bobrovsky knocked aside a Mike Zibanejad backhanded shot with the Rangers on the power play.

In between, there was a stretch of 14:23 when Florida held the Rangers without a shot on goal.

“You have to be a veteran goalie to do what he did,” Maurice said. “Sit for a while, and then make huge saves.”

And then when the Rangers began to heat up in the third, Bobrovsky stood tall and went a perfect 11 for 11.

This was just the second time the Rangers were held to fewer than 25 shots on goal this postseason.

“The guys worked hard again,” said Bobrovsky, who is 9-3 with a 2.17 goals against average so far in the playoffs. “They kept the gap up and didn’t give much ice. It was a great start for us.”

Want some more context on how big this shutout is from a historical standpoint? Consider the following:

▪ It’s just the second-ever Panthers shutout win on the road in the playoffs. The other came on May 2, 1996, at Philadelphia, when John Vanbiesbrouck stopped all 18 shots he faced in the 2-0 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

▪ It’s just the Panthers’ fifth overall playoff shutout win. In addition to Bobrovsky’s shutout last year and the road shutout win in 1996, the other two were April 21, 2012 (first round, Game 5 against the New Jersey Devils at home) and April 17, 1997 (first round, Game 1 against the Rangers at home).

▪ The last time the Rangers were shut out at home in the playoffs: April 21, 2016, in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s just the 17th time ever the Rangers have been shut out at home in the postseason.

Matthew Tkachuk gave Florida all the offense it needed with his fifth goal of the playoffs 16:26 into the first period. The star winger received a drop pass from Gustav Forsling and made his way toward the left circle before firing a wrist shot that beat Shesterkin to give Florida the 1-0 lead.

The Panthers got a second goal with 3:50 left in regulation when the Rangers’ Erik Gustafsson deflected a Carter Verhaeghe pass past Shesterkin.

Sam Bennett capped scoring with an empty-netter with 1:19 left in regulation.