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Rangers and Panthers drop gloves for FURIOUS brawl to open Game 2 before New York's Barclay Goodrow scores winner in OT to pull even in the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals
The New York Rangers pulled even with the Florida Panthers in the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals with 2-1 overtime victory after Barclay Goodrow scored 14 minutes into the extra frame.
Goodrow fired a snap shot from above that circles over goalie Sergei Bobrovsky's right shoulder, sending the Madison Square Garden crowd that has been sitting on edge into a frenzy.
Friday's game at Madison Square Garden began with both a figurative and literal bang.
After dropping Game 1 to the visiting Panthers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, New York got on the board just four minutes into Friday's action when Vincent Trocheck took a sublime pass from Adam Fox to beat Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky.
And that's when things got violent.
Barclay Goodrow and Alexis Lafreniere (right) celebrate the Rangers' game-winning goal
While Fox and Trocheck celebrated the early goal, Florida's Carter Verhaeghe was retaliating against New York's Alexis Lafrenière for an open-ice hit
While Fox and Trocheck celebrated the early goal, Florida's Carter Verhaeghe was retaliating against New York's Alexis Lafrenière for an open-ice hit that helped clear a path for the centering pass that led to the goal.
'[Matthew] Tkachuk's got Trocheck pinned down, Lafrenière jumps into the fray,' ESPN color commentator Ray Ferraro exclaimed amid the chaos. 'There's three or four wrestling matches going on! This is a perfect New York start.'
When the dust settled, Tkachuk, Verhaeghe, and Lafrenière were all handed roughing penalties, resulting in a one-man advantage for New York that the Rangers failed to convert.
The Panthers ultimately tied the game 14 minutes later on a power play goal from Verhaeghe after New York's Barclay Goodrow was whistled for interference.
If things seemed a bit chippier on Friday, it may be because the Rangers were looking for a way to slow down a Panthers attack that scored three times on Wednesday.
'They have a lot of speed on their team,' K'Andre Miller said after Wednesday's loss, as quoted by ESPN. 'I think limiting their speed throughout the neutral zone, trying to get hold-ups and trying to give us a little bit more time breaking the puck out of the D zone [are key].
Alexis Lafreniere of the New York Rangers fights Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers
'Obviously, when teams are coming that hard and pressuring you with that type of energy, I think [it's about] breaking down their forecheck with talking, puck moving and just trying to be a little bit firmer,' he added. 'Our execution can be a little bit better coming out of the D zone.'
To bolster that defense, and perhaps give the Panthers something to think about on the ice, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette opted to dress 6-foot-8 rookie bruiser Matt Rempe on Friday.
The 21-year-old winger was inactive in Game 1, but was in action on Friday on Laviolette's fourth line alongside Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow.
Former Rangers players-turned-analysts Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Hendrik Lundqvist all pushed for Rempe's return after Wednesday's loss.
'Maybe they should think about putting Rempe in the lineup,' Messier said on ESPN.
Game 3 will take place on Sunday in Florida.