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.
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS