The New York Rangers returned to the Big Apple after a three-game road stretch to face the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
And against the Florida Panthers, the Rangers took their first non-overtime loss of the regular-season — with a final score of 3-1.
The Blueshirts now hold a record of 5-1-1 and are still tied with the New Jersey Devils for first in the Metropolitan Division. Each of the two teams in the deadlock for first place have 11 points, respectively.
But with game over, let's take a look at three quick rapid reacts and notes from the game.
1. Shake that Laffy Taffy
Left-handed Alexis Lafrenière opened up the scoring for the Rangers in the first period. He rocketed the puck past Pantehrs' goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to make it 2-1 with 15:15 left in the first period.
The former 2020 No. 1 pick scored his fourth goal of the campaign, also scoring against Detroit, Toronto and Pittsburgh.
The feed. The finish. No notes. pic.twitter.com/vYMXTSUoRk
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 24, 2024
2. Slow Start
The first period was a wild one, with too many chances given up. K'Andre Miller was way over on the right side one too many times, leaving the left side of the ice wide open.
In addition to poor backchecking by the forwards, the end of the first period saw the majority of the scoring chances from the Rangers. But with only Lafrenière's goal on the board by the end of the second with 15 shots, not delivering was a big problem for the Blueshirts' offense.
3. In Shesterkin we Trust
By the end of the second period alone, despite giving up three goals, Igor Shesterkin was still proving he deserves to be a contender for the Vezina Trophy with 17 saves against 20 shots faced.
Obviously there's a lot at stake when a team if faced with playing the reigning Stanley Cup champions. But, you wouldn't know it from how collected Shesterkin was on the line.
The third period even saw him boast a power-play save so good that even made the announcers confused on whether a goal was scored or not.
However, that's not to say he was without fault on the Oct. 24 matchup.
The end of the game saw him boast final game stats of three goals allowed, 29 shots faced and 26 sdaves for .896 save percentage. Florida's Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe were all able to send one past Shesterkin's line.
Up Next
The Rangers will remain at Madison Square Garden to face the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, with puck drop slated for 7 p.m. EST, sharp. The game will be available for streaming via ESPN+.