NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Rempe helped the New York Rangers get their postseason off to a robust begin.
Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds aside within the second interval, and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Sunday in Sport 1 of their first-round playoff collection.
Jimmy Vesey had a purpose and an help, Chris Kreider additionally scored, Barclay Goodrow had two assists for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin completed with 20 saves.
“It’s clearly good to get that first one,” stated New York’s Peter Laviolette, who turned the primary coach in NHL historical past to steer six totally different groups to the Stanley Cup playoffs. “There’s issues we might have executed higher. … You should win one by one, so for that the consequence was good.”
The Rangers, looking for their first championship in 30 years, received their third straight and eleventh within the final 14 video games.
Martin Fehervary scored and Charlie Lindgren stopped 27 pictures for the Capitals, who had received three straight and 4 of their final 5 video games to earn the second wild card within the Japanese Convention.
“We’ve bought to do a means higher job offensively,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery stated. “It’s no secret. We struggled all 12 months however we’ve bought to search out methods to create extra on the inside. We’ve bought to skate out of stress, we’ve bought to maintain pucks off the yellow. We regularly ran pucks round.”
Sport 2 of the best-of-seven collection is Tuesday night time.
Main 3-1 after two durations, the Rangers outshot the Capitals 15-6 within the third.
Kreider made it 4-1 as he put a backhander previous Lindgren on a breakaway from the proper facet with 3:43 left within the third interval. It was his forty first postseason purpose, extending his franchise report.
The Rangers bottled up Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who had no pictures on purpose. He was held with no shot solely 5 instances in 79 video games throughout the season.
“All of us perceive it’s the playoffs,” Ovechkin stated. “Overlook about this one and transfer ahead.”
After a scoreless first interval wherein the groups mixed for 11 pictures on purpose, there have been 4 targets within the second interval.
Rempe bought the Rangers on the scoreboard first, sweeping within the puck from the left facet off a deflection throughout the entrance of the web by Vesey at 4:17.
Rempe, the 21-year-old rookie who has garnered numerous consideration for his bodily play and fights, drew chants of “Rem-pe! Rem-pe!” from the group.
“That was a giant purpose to place power within the constructing, perhaps as a result of it was him, too, put just a little extra additional juice within the constructing,” Laviolette stated. “After which be capable to get one other one proper after that. That was a turning level within the recreation.”
Panarin, who had a career-high 49 targets throughout the common season, made it 2-0 simply 33 seconds later at 4:50 as he fired a shot previous Lindgren from the proper circle. Alexis Lafreniere knocked defenseman Vincent Iorio off the puck and shoulder-first into the boards. Lafreniere then ship the puck to Trocheck, who despatched throughout to Panarin for the purpose.
Iorio went to the dressing room after the play and didn’t return. Carbery didn’t have an replace on his standing.
“I don’t suppose it was that, it was shut, it was borderline,” he stated of the hit. “I really feel dangerous for him as a result of he put himself in a troublesome spot. In all probability wants to maneuver the puck faster there and get it out of his arms. Then he hangs on to it, wobbles it.”
Vesey made it 3-0 as he bought the puck off a attract the proper circle and fired it previous Lindgren at 6:23. Rempe in entrance knocked down Beck Malenstyn to offer Vesey some area for his shot.
“(Rempe) scoring despatched the followers loopy, and we scored two extra targets within the subsequent jiffy,” Vesey stated. “He positively will get the group into the sport and because the crew with home-ice benefit, you’re going to attempt to feed off that power within the crowd.”
Fehervary deflected a shot by Tom Wilson off his foot and previous Shesterkin to get the Capitals on the scoreboard at 7:31.
Rempe was whistled for charging to offer the Capitals an influence play 2:07 into the sport. The Capitals managed only one shot on purpose throughout the benefit and had a number of pictures blocked. Additionally they went a 14:09 stretch within the interval with no shot on purpose because the Rangers had an 11-7 benefit.
The Rangers improved to 21-9 within the openers of a seven-game collection at dwelling.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
