Sergei Bobrovsky saw 23 shots on Wednesday night, and he stopped every last one of them.
The Panthers netminder accomplished a rarity in the Eastern Conference Final-opening 3-0 win at the Garden, serving the Rangers with their first blanking of the postseason — and only the second since the 2023-24 season began.
The last time the Blueshirts were held goalless was a 4-0 Dec. 9 loss to the rival Capitals.
Washington was also the last visiting team to serve up a shutout at MSG, another 4-0 result, on Dec. 27, 2022.
But one would have to go back even further to find the last time a team held the Rangers to a goose egg on home ice in the playoffs.
The last time they failed to score at the Garden in a playoff game was a 5-0 loss to the Penguins in Game 4 of an eventual first-round loss during the 2016 postseason.
Not that the Rangers didn’t come close to avoiding the fate in Game 1.
Braden Schneider hit the post on a first-period breakaway, and a third-period power play resulted in Alexis Lafreniere being foiled by the iron as well.
“I think we feel like we have better in us and I think first and foremost we look at ourselves and what we have to do better,” center Mika Zibanejad said after the loss. “There’s room for not improvement, but to raise our level”
Things may not get easier in Game 2.
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While the Rangers rank fifth in goals per game in the playoffs at 3.18, the Panthers are the stingiest defensive team left in the playoffs, giving up just 2.25 goals per game.
That shouldn’t be surprising, given Florida gave up a league-low 198 goals during the regular season, tied with the Jets at just 2.41 scores allowed per game.
Making matters worse is Florida’s 3.5 goals per game number, second to the Oilers among teams still fighting for the Cup.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette put his lines in a blender in the latter half of Game 1, but to no avail.
He’ll have to go back to the drawing board if he wants to avoid leaving town in an 0-2 hole.
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