Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on Wednesday made 23 saves as the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 3-0 in the opening game of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals series at Madison Square Garden.
Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist for Florida, who picked up their fourth straight post-season win on the road.
Tkachuk gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 3 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first period, scoring from just above the left circle after a pass from Swede Gustav Forsling.
Photo: AFP
It was Tkachuk’s fifth goal of the playoffs.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson thought he had doubled the advantage midway through the third period with a wrist shot, but after a Rangers challenge for goaltender interference, the effort was disallowed with the video review showing that Ryan Lomberg had impeded Igor Shesterkin.
Bobrovsky’s shutout was the second of his career in the post-season and 11 of his saves came in the third period as New York pushed for an equalizer.
Photo: AFP
“In the last 10 minutes of the game, that’s where he has to be Sergei,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
Florida extended their lead through a Verhaeghe shot that deflected off Alexis Lafreniere. Sam Bennett scored an empty-net goal with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining to make sure of the win.
Maurice said that his goaltender had delivered big moments after long spells when he was not called upon.
“You have to be a veteran goalie to do what he did. Sit for a while, and then make huge saves,” he said of Bobrovsky.
The win was just the second shutout victory on the road for the Panthers in franchise history and their first since 1996.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was not surprised by how difficult it had been to break down Florida.
“They have been tight throughout the playoffs, they have been extremely tight, but I thought we had opportunities that we didn’t cash in on,” Laviolette said.
“I think we got a little bit sharper in the third period, but our execution has got to get better, and not only in the offensive zone,” he added.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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