Jimmy Vesey and Artemi Panarin lead Rangers to 4-1 win over Capitals in Game 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Rempe helped the New York Rangers get their postseason off to a powerful begin.

Rempe and Artemi Panarin scored 33 seconds aside within the second interval, and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 on Sunday in Sport 1 of their first-round playoff sequence.

Jimmy Vesey had a purpose and an help, Chris Kreider additionally scored, Barclay Goodrow had two assists for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin completed with 20 saves.

“It’s clearly good to get that first one,” mentioned New York’s Peter Laviolette, who turned the primary coach in NHL historical past to guide six completely different groups to the Stanley Cup playoffs. “There’s issues we might have achieved higher. … You’ll want to win separately, so for that the outcome was good.”

The Rangers, in search of their first championship in 30 years, gained their third straight and eleventh within the final 14 video games.

Martin Fehervary scored and Charlie Lindgren stopped 27 photographs for the Capitals, who had gained three straight and 4 of their final 5 video games to earn the second wild card within the Jap Convention.

“We’ve acquired to do a approach higher job offensively,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery mentioned. “It’s no secret. We struggled all 12 months however we’ve acquired to search out methods to create extra on the inside. We’ve acquired to skate out of stress, we’ve acquired to maintain pucks off the yellow. We regularly ran pucks round.”

Sport 2 of the best-of-seven sequence is Tuesday evening.

Main 3-1 after two durations, the Rangers outshot the Capitals 15-6 within the third.

Kreider made it 4-1 as he put a backhander previous Lindgren on a breakaway from the fitting facet with 3:43 left within the third interval. It was his forty first postseason purpose, extending his franchise file.

The Rangers bottled up Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who had no photographs on purpose. He was held and not using a shot solely 5 occasions in 79 video games through the season.

“All of us perceive it’s the playoffs,” Ovechkin mentioned. “Neglect about this one and transfer ahead.”

After a scoreless first interval during which the groups mixed for 11 photographs on purpose, there have been 4 targets within the second interval.

Rempe acquired the Rangers on the scoreboard first, sweeping within the puck from the left facet off a deflection throughout the entrance of the web by Vesey at 4:17.

Rempe, the 21-year-old rookie who has garnered lots of consideration for his bodily play and fights, drew chants of “Rem-pe! Rem-pe!” from the gang.

“That was a giant purpose to place vitality within the constructing, perhaps as a result of it was him, too, put a bit of extra additional juice within the constructing,” Laviolette mentioned. “After which be capable of get one other one proper after that. That was a turning level within the sport.”

Panarin, who had a career-high 49 targets through the common season, made it 2-0 simply 33 seconds later at 4:50 as he fired a shot previous Lindgren from the fitting circle. Alexis Lafreniere knocked defenseman Vincent Iorio off the puck and shoulder-first into the boards. Lafreniere then ship the puck to Trocheck, who despatched throughout to Panarin for the purpose.

Iorio went to the dressing room after the play and didn’t return. Carbery didn’t have an replace on his standing.

“I don’t assume it was that, it was shut, it was borderline,” he mentioned of the hit. “I really feel dangerous for him as a result of he put himself in a troublesome spot. In all probability wants to maneuver the puck faster there and get it out of his arms. Then he hangs on to it, wobbles it.”

Vesey made it 3-0 as he acquired the puck off a attract the fitting circle and fired it previous Lindgren at 6:23. Rempe in entrance knocked down Beck Malenstyn to provide Vesey some house for his shot.

“(Rempe) scoring despatched the followers loopy, and we scored two extra targets within the subsequent couple of minutes,” Vesey mentioned. “He positively will get the gang into the sport and because the crew with home-ice benefit, you’re going to attempt to feed off that vitality within the crowd.”

Fehervary deflected a shot by Tom Wilson off his foot and previous Shesterkin to get the Capitals on the scoreboard at 7:31.

Rempe was whistled for charging to provide the Capitals an influence play 2:07 into the sport. The Capitals managed only one shot on purpose through the benefit and had a number of photographs blocked. Additionally they went a 14:09 stretch within the interval and not using a shot on purpose because the Rangers had an 11-7 benefit.

The Rangers improved to 21-9 within the openers of a seven-game sequence at house.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL