Matt Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds apart in a three-goal second period as the New York Rangers opened the postseason with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals in an Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday.
Rempe’s goal seemed to energize the home crowd, and his teammates fed off that energy to open the floodgates.
“Obviously, (Rempe) scoring sent the fans crazy and we scored two more goals in the next two minutes,” Jimmy Vesey said. “So I think he definitely gets the crowd in the game, and as the team with home ice advantage, you’re gonna try to feed off that energy in the crowd. I can’t say for certain that’s why we scored three goals, but he definitely gets everyone into the game.”
Vesey had the third of those goals and assisted on Rempe’s to help the Rangers get a three-goal lead in the first 6:23 of the second following an evenly played opening period.
Barclay Goodrow collected two assists for the Rangers, who can take a 2-0 lead at home in the best-of-seven series on Tuesday night.
“Just a big win, and it was special for Jimmy and Goody (Goodrow). We had a successful line,” the 21-year-old Rempe said. “Those guys have taken me under their wing a lot. As a young guy, I owe them a lot. So I was really happy that we all got some success and we got the win. So it was a great night.”
Chris Kreider also scored by finishing off a breakaway with 3:43 left as the Rangers dominated most of the flow after getting their lead.
Martin Fehervary scored in the second for the Capitals, who were 0-for-4 on the power play.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves.
Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren allowed four goals on 31 shots.
“They owned five minutes of that game, and we got behind,” Capitals right winger Tom Wilson said. “It’s one of those things, we got to manage the atmosphere a little bit when they get rolling. Other than that, we did some good things. We probably got to get a little bit more to the net and try to get a little more offense.
“It’s one game. I think we saw how deadly they are when you give them time and space.”
After taking the game’s initial penalty, Rempe cycled the puck around and emerged from behind the net at the right side of the crease. He was open at the edge of the crease and lifted Vesey’s cross-ice pass past Lindgren 4:17 into the second.
A hit by Alexis Lafreniere on Washington defenseman Vincent Iorio helped the Rangers double the lead moments later. Following the hit, Lafreniere made the pass from the right to Vincent Trocheck.
Trocheck dished the puck to Panarin, who was alone in the left faceoff circle and lifted the puck by Lindgren’s right arm.
Following New York’s offensive zone faceoff win, Vesey beat Washington defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to the loose puck and from between the circles lifted a shot past Lindgren with 13:37 remaining in the first.
The Capitals finally scored when Wilson’s cross-ice pass to Fehervary banked off Mika Zibanejad’s skate in front of the net and past Shesterkin with 12:29 left in the second.
After the goals, the level of physicality increased and the second ended with van Riemsdyk getting into a verbal confrontation with several New York players before officials intervened.
Before the second, a tightly contested opening period saw the teams combine for 11 shots on goal.
Lindgren made consecutive point-blank stops on Zibanejad and Panarin on New York’s first power play, and then moved slightly out of the crease to deny Zibanejad with about 5 1/2 minutes left.
Shesterkin kept the game scoreless by making a glove stop on Dylan Strome’s shot from between the circles with about two minutes left.
–Field Level Media
