Rangers Ripped by NHL Fans After Getting Shut Out in Game 1 Loss to Panthers in ECF

The New York Rangers displayed a mostly lifeless offense Wednesday en route to a 3-0 home loss to the Florida Panthers to begin the Eastern Conference Final.

The Blueshirts were shut out just once in 92 games (regular season plus playoffs) entering the Panthers series. That was way back on Dec. 9, when New York fell 4-0 to the Washington Capitals.

But New York had a brutal showing Wednesday, notably managing just 12 shots on goal through two periods. That included a stretch of one shot on goal over a 16-minute stretch.

The Rangers did have their chances, including breakaways from Braden Schneider and Will Cuylle, a Mika Zibanejad one-timer that went wide, a four-shot flurry in 12 seconds during the third period and a late power play right after that.

However, the Rangers' goose egg never changed shape over 60 minutes. Well-deserved credit goes to Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who finished with a 23-save shutout and made clutch stops along the way.

Meanwhile, the Panthers got on the board late in the first period off a Matthew Tkachuk goal.

The score remained 1-0 until the Rangers scored an unofficial own goal after Alexis Lafrenière deflected one in with 3:48 remaining. Carter Verhaeghe got the credit.

Sean Bennett scored an empty-netter to seal the scoring.

Of course, this is only one game in a best-of-seven series, but the Rangers came out flat. There's plenty of time for New York to turn this around, but in the meantime, fans questioned the tough performance.

Game 2 will take place in New York on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.