The New York Rangers will host the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Both teams secured their spots by winning their previous series in six games, with the Rangers defeating the Carolina Hurricanes and the Panthers overcoming the Boston Bruins.
Chris Kreider played a crucial role in the Rangers’ success, scoring a natural hat trick in the third period to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 victory against Carolina. This marked the 33rd time this season (including playoffs) that the Rangers have rallied for a win.
The Rangers now face a formidable challenge against the Panthers, who led the league in penalty minutes during the regular season with 1,116 and have accumulated an additional 171 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Despite this, Rangers’ captain Jacob Trouba remains confident and unafraid of the physicality Florida brings.
“We know they’re a physical team,” Trouba said. “We aren’t approaching this series any differently. Physicality is part of our game, and when we’re at our best, we’re a physical group. But we won’t be overly physical. We’ll stick to our game plan, which has brought us success all year. It’s going to be a fun, fast, and physical series on both sides.”
On the speed front, the Rangers will benefit from the return of Filip Chytil, who missed 72 games this season due to an upper-body injury. He returned for just one playoff game (Game 3 against Carolina) and is eager to contribute.
“I can’t wait to be out there on the ice and enjoy that atmosphere,” Chytil said. “But most importantly, I want to help give our fans a win and start the series with a 1-0 lead.”
Additionally, Blake Wheeler is making progress in his recovery from a season-ending leg injury and may be available for the Eastern Conference Final. His former coach from the Winnipeg Jets, Paul Maurice, now with the Panthers, expressed his support.
“I’m hoping he plays, for him,” Maurice said. “He’s a hard-working man. To come back from that injury and be good, he will have done everything possible to get back.”
Leave a Reply