2. Panthers’ push on the power play
Florida was 0-for-3 with three shots on goal with the man-advantage in Game 1. The good news is its penalty kill held New York to 0-for-2 with four shots on goal, but at times, the Rangers looked dangerous on the power play. The Panthers never really did.
“A lot of things we can do better,” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov said. “Obviously, we want to get on the same page, we want to work harder. Of course, we wanted to work harder, but I think we can execute better and make plays. We kept the puck on the boards a little too much so they can pressure us. Obviously, they have a really good penalty kill and they pressure really hard. We have to find ways to be able to make plays.”
3. Some ‘O’ from the ‘D’
That Adam Fox has no points in five games is startling considering the Rangers defenseman never went more than two games without a point during the regular season.
That the Rangers have gotten only two goals from defensemen in the playoffs — each short-handed, by K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba — is also startling. They got 44 goals from defensemen during the regular season, tied for seventh in the NHL.
They need more of a shot mentality in the offensive zone in Game 2, and generating looks from up top could be the key to unlocking some offense.
“Some are expected more than others, myself included, to produce a bit more offense,” Fox said. “Our main goal as a ‘D’ corps is to defend first, especially against high-octane teams and not really force that offense, but getting up in the rush, joining late and delivering pucks from the blue line to get bounces, definitely we want to jump when the opportunity presents itself.”
Panthers projected lineup
Vladimir Tarasenko — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Anton Lundell — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Sam Bennett — Evan Rodrigues
Ryan Lomberg — Kevin Stenlund — Nick Cousins
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Steven Lorentz, Kyle Okposo, Tobias Bjornfot, Uvis Balinskis, Josh Mahura, Jonah Gadjovich, Spencer Knight, Rasmus Asplund, Mike Benning, Magnus Hellberg, Matt Kiersted, William Lockwood, Mackie Samoskevich, Justin Sourdif
Injured: None
Rangers projected lineup
Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Filip Chytil
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle — Alex Wennberg — Jack Roslovic
Jimmy Vesey — Barclay Goodrow — Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Zac Jones, Chad Ruhwedel, Jonny Brodzinski, Adam Edstrom, Kaapo Kakko, Blake Wheeler
Injured: None
Status report
Verhaeghe didn’t take part in the Panthers morning skate Friday, but is expected to play. … It’s unclear if Kakko, a forward, or Rempe will be in the Rangers lineup. New York did not conduct line rushes during its morning skate and coach Peter Laviolette is not answering questions about the lineup during the playoffs. However, Kakko was one of eight forwards wearing a blue jersey at the morning skate, including every forward in the top six group and Brodzinski. Rempe was one of eight in a white jersey, but that group also included forwards Edstrom and Wheeler, each expected to be scratched, leaving Rempe as a likely option for a bottom-six role. Kakko has played in all 11 of New York’s playoff games. Rempe has been a healthy scratch for two straight and four of the past five. It’s likely the Rangers will have 13 forwards skating in pregame warmups, which is when they will show their line rushes. … Chytil was in a blue jersey at the morning skate, an indication he will play on a line with Zibanejad and Kreider. Chytil played on the third line with Wennberg and Kakko in Game 1. … Roslovic, who was in a white jersey, had been skating on the top line, but could drop down to a bottom-six role, potentially taking Kakko’s spot as the right wing on the third line. … If Kakko is out, Cuylle likely will likely move up from the fourth line to play left wing on the third line, Vesey would move from right to left on the fourth line and Rempe would slot in on the fourth line.
