This was one to forget. Game 1 was all about the Panthers. They controlled it throughout to cruise to a 3-0 shutout win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Led by Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers grabbed a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Final. His goal with 3:34 left in the first period was the game-winner. He also laid a couple of big hits early, including catching Vincent Trocheck with his head down.

It was big boy hockey played by the relentless Panthers, who clawed the Rangers at every turn. They used their physicality early to set a tone. In particular, there were some big hits that caused the Rangers some trouble. It led to a few turnovers in an uneven first period.

Florida got off to a good start. They wreaked havoc with their unique combination of speed, checking, and aggressive style. The Rangers looked a couple of steps behind. They couldn’t make much happen in transition. There was a lot of one and done.

Artemi Panarin found little room to make plays. He was swarmed by Cats throughout the game. He still managed to get three shots on net. None were dangerous against close friend Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped all 23 shots to earn the shutout.

There wasn’t much from Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Jack Roslovic. They didn’t spend enough time in the Panthers’ zone. Even when coach Peter Laviolette kept the Zibanejad line away from Aleksander Barkov, it didn’t matter. That’ll need to change on Friday.

Shots were hard to come by. The stingy Panthers’ defense made it tough on the Blueshirts. They tried some of those passes through the middle of the ice. They were intercepted by Paul Maurice’s well schooled team.

For most of the first, Igor Shesterkin made some timely saves to keep it scoreless. The Panthers generated chances on the forecheck. What made it tough was how aggressive they were. With key defensemen Brandon Montour, Gustav Forsling, and Aaron Ekblad pinching to keep plays alive, it felt like the Rangers were spinning around in circles.

Even the Panthers’ fourth line spent time in attack mode. It wasn’t a good night for the Rangers’ third line. Filip Chytil wasn’t able to establish much with Alex Wennberg and Kaapo Kakko. By the third period, Laviolette started mixing and matching. In search for offense, he had Chytil take a shift with Alexis Lafreniere and Kakko. Chytil and Kakko also got a shift with Panarin.

Despite turning over pucks, the Rangers limited the Panthers for most of the first period. Jacob Trouba gave away the puck behind his net to Vladimir Tarasenko. Trouba took a hooking minor on Barkov.

The Rangers got the job done on the penalty kill. They limited the Panthers to one shot. Sam Reinhart had his wrist shot stopped by Shesterkin. Kreider made a good defensive play and cleared the zone late in the kill to get out of trouble.

Following a turnover in his own zone, a hustling Lafreniere made a diving block to deny Anton Lundell. On the same shift, he stayed with a bouncing puck to get a good shot right on Bobrovsky.

With the game still scoreless, Carter Verhaeghe started a play in transition up to Forsling. He then made a nice drop pass for Tkachuk, who used Adam Fox as a partial screen to beat Shesterkin at 16:26.

Over a minute later, with the Panthers pressing for more, Kakko sent Braden Schneider on a clean breakaway. Schneider had Bobrovsky beat but hit the goalpost. That’s the kind of night it was.

After getting outshot 9-5, the Rangers came out with more focus at the start of the second period. It led to another great opportunity. This time, Will Cuylle got behind the Panthers for a breakaway. But Bobrovsky came out to deny him with a big save.

He’d also deny Trocheck on a tip-in. After only totaling five shots in the first period, the Rangers had four shots in the first two minutes of the second. It looked like they were going to tie it. Then, their momentum just stopped.

For the remainder of the period, they only had three more shots. They went over 12 minutes without getting a shot. It was frustrating. Especially when they applied some pressure on one shift. Lafreniere had a shot miss over the top. Then, Zibanejad fired wide. The Panthers also blocked 19 shots.

Roslovic took an undisciplined, high-sticking minor on Ekman-Larsson in the offensive zone. That killed their momentum. Even though they easily killed off the penalty, the Rangers couldn’t get anything going afterward. You could’ve taken a nap and not missed anything. That’s how boring that stretch was.

On one end, the Panthers kept coming close to getting the second goal. Shesterkin made a great save to rob Barkov in front. Even though he didn’t record a point, the Panthers captain dominated. He was outstanding in all facets. That included getting back to break up a play defensively.

If there was one Blueshirt who didn’t look overwhelmed, it was Cuylle. He delivered a few big hits. He was noticeable during most shifts. For some reason, he only played 7:45 over 16 shifts. It’s utterly ridiculous. The Rangers need Cuylle’s energy. It’s being wasted if he’s playing sparingly on the fourth line.

Despite getting outplayed by a wide margin, the Rangers went to their first power play when Sam Bennett grabbed Fox’s stick. The problem was that it came with 1:26 left. Kreider had a deflection stopped by Bobrovsky. Zibanejad had a backhand stopped before time expired.

The Panthers killed the remainder at the start of the third period. The game remained 1-0 for seemingly ever.

When Erik Gustafsson had a great chance to shoot, he instead passed the puck over for a Kakko one-timer that Bobrovsky got just enough of on his near goalpost to keep it out. The replay showed that it was much closer than I thought. Many fans groaned when Gustafsson passed. It looked like he had a better opportunity.

On another play in transition, it looked like Ekman-Larsson had put the Panthers ahead 2-0. But Ryan Lomberg made enough contact with Shesterkin for Laviolette to challenge for goalie interference. He was shoved from behind by Ryan Lindgren. However, it was clear that Lomberg didn’t attempt to avoid Shesterkin. Lindgren’s shove came afterward.

They got it right. The goal was overturned. With the crowd finally awake, the Rangers still couldn’t get much going. More exasperating was that the refs missed Trocheck’s stick being held behind the Panthers’ net. Instead, Lafreniere was caught hooking down Dmitry Kulikov.

Shesterkin made a couple of stops to keep it at one goal. Lundell also had a deflection hit the crossbar. When Lafreniere returned, the crowd came to life. Almost immediately, Trouba leveled Kevin Stenlund. Following that big hit, the Rangers came very close to tying it.

After Bobrovsky made a pair of saves on Wennberg, Trouba had a shot blocked by Nick Cousins. The puck came right to Lafreniere in the slot. But his shot hit the goalpost. That’s how it went for Lafreniere.

On the next shift, the Panthers got caught with too many men. Vladimir Tarasenko came on the ice too soon. Maurice went crazy on the bench. However, it was the right call.

The Rangers again came close to evening it. But Trocheck waited too long before shooting into the pads of Bobrovsky. Had he been quicker, there was room on the short side up top. Fox also had a one-timer stopped. That was it.

With under four minutes left in regulation, Shesterkin came out to play a puck. However, he made a big mistake by giving it away to Verhaeghe.

With Shesterkin back in his net and Verhaeghe looking to center a pass across, Lafreniere came back to try to stop the pass. Instead, he accidentally put the puck by Shesterkin into his own net. That was the backbreaker. Verhaeghe got credit for an own goal to make it 2-0 with 3:48 remaining.

The Blueshirts lifted Shesterkin for a six-on-five with three and a half minutes left. They came close again. Bobrovsky made a good save on Zibanejad. He also shut the door on both Lafreniere and Panarin.

Finally, Bennett took a pass from Tkachuk and hit the open net from his own end with 79 seconds left.

With only a few seconds to go, Mikkola hit Chytil into the boards. He was able to get up. Hopefully, he’s okay.

Whatever the case, it wasn’t the Rangers’ night. They were outclassed. The Panthers were faster and better in every facet. Even Bobrovsky outplayed Shesterkin. There wasn’t a whole lot to like. However, it’s one game.

What they have to do is turn the page. Make adjustments. I thought Kreider said it best.

He’s correct. The ice was bad for both teams. It’s hot out. But he also noted how the Panthers put everything behind them and went to work. There wasn’t enough of that from the Rangers. Neither was there much energy.

Mark Messier called for Matt Rempe to play in Game 2. He was very disappointed in the Rangers’ play the first two periods. So was P.K. Subban. Can they use Rempe’s energy? Yes and no. They shouldn’t need him to get up for these games. It’s the Conference Finals. We’ll see what Laviolette decides.

The Rangers really need to win on Friday. In order to do that, they must establish a forecheck and get more shots through on Bobrovsky. They need to score early and play from ahead. This is a better quality opponent who doesn’t sit back. It’s a step up.

It showed.