NEW YORK — Matt Rempe contributed to the strong start of New York Rangers' postseason.
Within 33 seconds in the second period, Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored, leading the President's Trophy-winning Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 on Sunday.
Jimmy Vesey scored and assisted, Chris Kreider also scored, and Barclay Goodrow assisted twice for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves.
New York’s Peter Laviolette, the first coach in NHL history to lead six different teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs, expressed satisfaction for the first win. He also acknowledged room for improvement and emphasized the importance of taking one win at a time.
The Rangers, aiming for their first championship in 30 years, secured their third consecutive win and 11th in the last 14 games.
Martin Fehervary scored, and Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves for the Capitals, who had secured the second wild card in the Eastern Conference by winning three straight and four of their last five games.
“We need to significantly improve offensively,” stated Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. “We need to find ways to generate more offense and handle pressure better. Our puck movement needs to be more effective.”
The second game of the best-of-seven series will take place on Tuesday night.
Leading 3-1 after two periods, the Rangers outshot the Capitals 15-6 in the third.
Kreider increased the lead to 4-1 with a backhander on a breakaway from the right side with 3:43 left in the third period. This marked his 41st postseason goal, extending his franchise record.
The Rangers contained Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, preventing him from taking any shots on goal. During the season, he had been held without a shot on goal only five times in 79 games.
“We all understand it’s the playoffs,” Ovechkin said. “Forget about this one and move forward.”
After a scoreless first period where the teams combined for 11 shots on goal, the second period saw four goals being scored.
Rempe scored first for the Rangers, finishing a deflection by Vesey at 4:17.
The crowd chanted “Rem-pe! Rem-pe!” to support the 21-year-old rookie known for his physical play and fights.
“That goal injected energy into the building, maybe due to his involvement, and then getting another one right after. It was a turning point in the game,” Laviolette remarked.
Panarin, who achieved a career-high 49 goals during the regular season, made it 2-0 at 4:50 by sending a shot past Lindgren from the right circle. Alexis Lafreniere caused defenseman Vincent Iorio to lose the puck, leading to Panarin’s goal.
Iorio left the game after the play, and Carbery provided no update on his condition.
He said the hit was close to being a penalty and feels sorry for the player who got hit. Thinks the player should have passed the puck quicker instead of holding onto it.
Vesey scored to make it 3-0 after getting the puck from a faceoff and shooting it past Lindgren at 6:23. Rempe knocked down Malenstyn to give Vesey space for the shot.
Rempe's goal got the fans excited, and the team scored two more goals in the next few minutes. Vesey said Rempe's goal energized the crowd and the team fed off that energy as the home team.
Fehervary redirected Wilson's shot off his foot and into the net at 7:31 to score for the Capitals.
Rempe was called for charging, giving the Capitals a power play 2:07 into the game. The Capitals only had one shot on goal during the power play and had many shots blocked. They also went 14:09 without a shot on goal while the Rangers had an 11-7 advantage.
The Rangers have won 21 of 30 first games of a seven-game series at home.