Bobrovsky, Panthers shut out Rangers in Game 1 of Eastern Final

NEW YORK -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves, and the Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 3-0 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

It was Bobrovsky's second shutout in 82 career Stanley Cup Playoff games (76 starts).

"In the postseason, you don't think about the goals or anything, there is only wins and losses and you focus on one moment at a time and you don't think about anything else," Bobrovsky said. "It was a great building, great fans, great atmosphere. It's a big win for us."

Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist for Florida, which is the No. 1 seed from the Atlantic Division.

"All in all, happy with how it went," Tkachuk said. "A lot of things that we can get better at, but you never complain after a win, especially in the playoffs, so on to Game 2."

Igor Shesterkin made 24 saves for New York, which is the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan Division.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series will be here on Friday.

"They play a pretty smart, simple game," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. "[They] don't turn many pucks over and do a good job of gaining the zone, getting pucks deep and getting in on the forecheck. I think we got to do the same. I think that's the kind of game that's going to be played. ... I'm sure we'll go back and look at it and make some adjustments for next game. ... It is one game. Come back and bring a better game in Game 2 and even this thing up."

Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 16:26 of the first period, scoring from just above the left circle after taking a pass from Gustav Forsling on a rush.

"I don't put any pressure on myself to score and produce offense," Tkachuk said. "I guess that's part of my game, a big part of my game, but at the end of the day, it's not about myself here, so there's a way bigger goal ahead."

Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 12 games this postseason.

"That was a big goal and I mean, it definitely got us going," Verhaeghe said. "Took a lot of momentum out of their sails. I think any time you're on the road and you can get the first goal, I think you take the crowd out of it a little bit and kind of ... we like playing with the lead and it kind of lets us settle down into our game. 'Chucky' was awesome."

Oliver Ekman-Larsson appeared to make it 2-0 at 8:45 of the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle, but the Rangers challenged the play for goaltender interference, and the call was overturned after a video review showed forward Ryan Lomberg impeded Shesterkin's ability to play the puck.

However, Verhaeghe did give the Panthers a 2-0 lead at 16:12 of the third. Shesterkin came out of his crease and tried to clear the puck off the side boards, but Verhaeghe got to it and sent a centering pass toward Tkachuk that deflected five-hole off the stick of Rangers forward Alexis Lafrenière.

"I was trying to get the puck out and I saw the goalie come out and he shot to the boards," Verhaeghe said. "I just picked up the puck and tried to make play to the net. I think Chucky was moving back door. I tried to put it on his tape, but I put it on someone else's tape, and it went in luckily."

Sam Bennett scored an empty-net goal with 1:19 remaining for the 3-0 final.

"It's 1-0 now," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "We're exactly where we wanted to be before the game and it was a good effort by us. I think we can build on this very well."

The Rangers, who were shut out for the first time in the playoffs, were 0-for-2 on the power play. They also had two breakaway attempts, but Will Cuylle and K'Andre Miller were each unable to score.

"We had looks, we had a few breakaways, but our whole entire game has got to be a lot better," Rangers forward Chris Kreider said. "We didn't do enough to give ourselves chances to be in the O-zone and to even get to the net."

The Rangers did manage to generate 12 shots on goal in the third period and had seven more blocked by the Panthers.

"We take I think one moment at a time and everybody keeps grinding, keeps chipping away, executes the system, and everyone delivered," Bobrovsky said. "In the last minute, when the game is decided, they still throw their body on the shot lanes, so it's special."

NOTES: The Panthers have won four straight on the road and are 5-1 away from home overall this postseason. ... Florida has won seven straight games in the conference final. ... Rangers forward Filip Chytil returned to the lineup after missing the final three games of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Carolina Hurricanes because of an illness (Game 4) and undisclosed reasons (Games 5-6). He had no shots on goal in 9:17 of ice time.