On Thursday night, the Rangers took on the Panthers for the first time since losing in the Eastern Conference Final. It went similarly, with the Panthers using two early goals to hand the Rangers a 3-1 loss at Madison Square Garden. It was their first loss in regulation.

Even without star center Aleksander Barkov, the defending champs controlled most of the action. It took Anton Lundell only 44 seconds to give them the lead. Following a turnover from Alexis Lafreniere in the Panthers’ zone, Eetu Luostarinen started a counterattack. Sam Reinhart got around K’Andre Miller to center for a wide open Lundell, who beat Igor Shesterkin to open the scoring.

Adam Fox got lost in coverage on the goal. That left Lundell alone for his fifth of the season. It was a quick reminder of how good the Panthers are. The Rangers started well by taking advantage of flawed opponents. Though they didn’t play perfectly. There were still mistakes being made that Shesterkin covered up.

Before the game was three minutes old, Carter Verhaeghe scored from the left circle on a shot that went high glove on Shesterkin to put the Rangers in a two-goal hole. A Reilly Smith turnover allowed Gustav Forsling to find Verhaeghe, who surprised Shesterkin with a good wrist shot for his first of the season.

The bad start was criticized by unhappy Rangers coach Peter Laviolette later. For whatever reason, they weren’t ready to play. It took an early Panthers’ knockdown for them to wake up.

Over two minutes later, Lafreniere got the Rangers back in it with a sweet finish for his fourth of the season. On an aggressive pinch from Fox, he made a great pass in front for Lafreniere, who went forehand backhand to beat Sergei Bobrovsky at 4:44.

The patience he showed on the goal is what makes Lafreniere a candidate for a big season. He has great hands. His goal woke up the Rangers.

They upped their level, coming close to nearly tying it. Adam Edstrom led Jonny Brodzinski on a breakaway. But Bobrovsky robbed him with a great glove save to keep the Panthers ahead.

He became the story. On a night, he won his 400th career game to pass Henrik Lundqvist for the fastest goalie to win 400 in NHL history, Bobrovsky made several critical stops to help lead the Panthers to victory. That included a sequence when he made a toe save to deny Vincent Trocheck on the doorstep after stopping Braden Schneider.

After stopping nine of ten shots in a hectic first period, which saw each goalie shine, Bobrovsky only had to make five saves in a second period controlled by Florida. It was the one on Trocheck that prevented the Rangers from tying it. It was a momentum turning stop.

Afterward, it was the Cats who dictated the terms. They forced the Rangers into sloppy turnovers in the neutral zone to apply pressure on Shesterkin. He did all he could to give his team a chance, making a few sparklers when the ice was tilted.

Smith lost a puck battle in the neutral zone that allowed the Panthers to create the key third goal off the cycle. They were able to get their top line out on a line change.

With the Rangers unable to change, both Miller and Fox were caught on with Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Smith. Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk worked the puck up for Dmitry Kulikov, who set up Niko Mikkola for a shot that Sam Bennett tipped in to make it 3-1, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the second.

A couple of shifts later, the Rangers’ third pair of Ryan Lindgren and Victor Mancini spent extended time in their end. It was again the Panthers’ top line that generated chances. It took Verhaeghe bumping into Shesterkin to relieve the pressure. He went off for goalie interference.

Instead of getting anything off it, the Rangers failed miserably on the power play. The top unit struggled with the aggressive Panthers’ penalty kill. It was eerily reminiscent of last spring. They were unable to even test Bobrovsky. Instead, Shesterkin was forced to make a shorthanded stop on Luostarinen.

With the Zibanejad unit unable to get anything going, Peter Laviolette tweaked his lines in an attempt to find a spark. Artemi Panarin moved up to play with Zibanejad and Kreider. That meant splitting up their best line. The move didn’t work. All it did was hurt chemistry, with even the very effective third line altered.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, a desperate Laviolette tried something similar. The Rangers were blanked 3-0 on May 22. It didn’t make sense to panic. The line that features Filip Chytil, Will Cuylle, and Kaapo Kakko have had early success. They weren’t as effective last night. But breaking them up didn’t make sense. It’s like having Trocheck and Lafreniere without Panarin. It doesn’t work.

Things weren’t much better in the third. Even an early power play went by the wayside. It was the Panthers that started quickly, like the first period. They peppered Shesterkin, who continued to do his part. That included strong denials on Verhaeghe.

When they did get offense, the shots were from the outside on Bobrovsky. He stopped 10 on his way to finishing with 24 saves to earn the game’s first star.

Even a 6-on-4 with Shesterkin on the bench didn’t muster much. That’s how well the Panthers defended. They gave up nothing over the final three-plus minutes.

Laviolette wasn’t pleased with the Rangers’ effort. He didn’t like anything.

Chalk it up to being one of those nights. The Panthers were coming off a 5-1 home loss to the Wild on Tuesday. I knew they’d be ready. Even without Barkov, they’re capable of winning games due to their style of play under coach Paul Maurice. He recently signed an extension to stay behind the bench. It’s well deserved.

If there’s a criticism of Laviolette, he’s very loyal to his veterans. Zibanejad clearly struggled like he did before against the same opponent that eliminated the Rangers from the postseason. There isn’t as much explosiveness from Zibanejad. That’s a problem. He used to skate into open ice, fly by guys, and unleash his wrist shot. It’s very rare that he does it now.

Laviolette also kept Lindgren with Mancini for the second straight game. They struggled. Lindgren isn’t the fastest skater. It was a bad matchup. I would’ve preferred to see Zac Jones in the lineup. His speed and skating could’ve helped. But the coach won’t do it.

Lindgren is well-respected in the room by teammates. The idea of sitting him when he just returned probably wouldn’t go over well. I understand. If he just came back, he isn’t going to be sharp. We saw that in the first game against the Canadiens.

Why not play the long game? They don’t have to go with the same defense every night. Keeping Lindgren and Jacob Trouba healthy is essential. Trouba has looked much better now that he’s fully recovered from the broken ankle. He works well with Schneider on the second pair. Miller and Fox need to be split up. I’d reunite Lindgren with Fox. Of course, that’s not how they lined up at Friday’s practice.

I don’t get it. He’s putting their two slowest defensemen together. Jones and Schneider know each other well. That should work. Jones has missed the last three games. He deserves to come back in.

Mancini will sit against the Ducks tomorrow. I don’t have any problem with that. He’s a true rookie, having never played a full season in the American Hockey League (AHL). He’s played all seven games so far. Let him watch from the press box. It’s a learning process.

Rempe Sent Down

After the game, the Rangers finally sent Matt Rempe down. He’ll make his AHL season debut for the Hartford Wolf Pack tonight.

Rempe hardly played in the first seven games, briefly getting into two. Laviolette limited his ice time. He hasn’t trusted him since the playoffs. What’s the point of having him on the roster? It never made sense.

Now, he can go play regular shifts for the Wolf Pack. That’ll be good for his development. He remains very popular amongst fans. But he was clearly beaten out by Edstrom in camp. Edstrom has become a regular.

Jimmy Vesey skated for the first time. He must sit out three more games before he can become eligible to return on Nov. 3 versus the Islanders.

Ruhwedel Clears Waivers

As expected, the Rangers placed Chad Ruhwedel on waivers. He cleared earlier today and was assigned to the Wolf Pack.

Acquired last season from the Penguins, Ruhwedel got into six total games, including five in 2023-24. He appeared in one game against the Maple Leafs this season.

It didn’t make sense to carry eight defensemen. Especially if Mancini is staying for now. Things can always change. We’ll see what happens over time.