RECAP: Panthers 3, Rangers 0

With 1:19 left, Sam Bennett extended the lead to 3-0 with an empty-net goal.

“All in all, happy with how it went,” Tkachuk said. “A lot of things we can get better at, but you never complain about a win, especially in playoffs. On to Game 2.”

THEY SAID IT

“He (Sergei Bobrovsky) made some huge saves. Obviously in the second period, that one save at the end, and in the third period we obviously needed some help from him. He was there, as always. He’s an unreal goalie and we’re lucky to have him.” – Aleksander Barkov

“I think that’s what playoffs in general is kind of about, but especially early on in series, early on in games, just trying to be physical. I thought, myself and the rest of us, kind of got away from it in the second [period], but then we came back in the third with the same effort.” – Matthew Tkachuk

“All of these games are so close. The score almost doesn’t tell you anything. It’s a turn of a puck. It’s a puck that we block that they didn’t or a pass that we made. It’s two or three and that’s the difference.” – Paul Maurice

“It’s one game. There’s lots of hockey ahead of us. It’s a great way to start.” – Sergei Bobrovsky

CATS STATS

– Sergei Bobrovsky improved to 8-1 in his playoff career against Presidents’ Trophy winners.

– The Panthers improved to 5-0 when leading after two periods in this year’s playoffs.

– Aleksander Barkov went 11-for-18 (61.1%) in the faceoffs circle.

– Ryan Lomberg recorded a team-high five hits.

– Sam Reinhart blocked a team-high three shots.

– Matthew Tkachuk recorded his 13^th career multi-point playoff game as a Panther.

– The Panthers led 23-18 in scoring chances at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

One win down, three to go.

With one more game in the Big Apple before heading back to South Florida for Games 3 and 4, the Panthers will battle the Rangers in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

For watch party information, visit FloridaPanthers.com/CatsOnTap.