Panthers Shut Out Rangers 3-0 in Game One of East Finals

The Florida Panthers stole home-court advantage from the New York Rangers as they won Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals 3-0 on Wednesday night. In the first period, left-wing Matthew Tkachuk scored on a snapshot with assists from defenseman Gustav Forsling and center Carter Verhaeghe. Thachuk also had an assist. He has five goals and 11 assists in the postseason. Late in the third period, Verchaghe scored on a solo play. Verchaghe has a team-high seven goals to go along with six assists in the playoffs.

A few moments later, center Sam Bennett scored on an empty netter with an assist from Tkachuk. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky picked up his first shutout in the playoffs. He had 23 saves for the Panthers. He’s currently allowing just over two goals per game in the postseason. He also held serve during a power play when defenseman Adam Fox attempted a shot and Bobrovsky’s kick save kept the shutout going. Bobrovsky snagged five, seven, and eleven saves in the first, second, and third periods, respectively.

On the opposite side, goaltender Igor Shesterkin had 24 saves in a losing effort. The Panthers took 27 shots, 19 of them were blocked while attempting 23 shots, and 18 of them were blocked. The Rangers had 12 giveaways while the Panthers had just two. Game Two will be Friday, May 24th in New York.