Rangers rally behind teammate after tough time during game one

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Ryan Hall
May 24, 2024 (10:14)

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Rangers rally behind teammate after tough time during game one, as he netted an own goal.

Despite being down 1-0 in the series against
the Florida Panthers and watching their teammate Alexis Lafrenière scoring on his own net, Rangers players came to his defence and rallied around the beleaguered forward after an ugly loss.

The play in question was a mistake riddled defensive scrum as Rangers goaltender Igor sister can failed to clear the puck out of the zone to which Carter Verhaeghe managed to get the puck and use Lafrenière stick to put the puck in the net. This sealed the Rangers fate and the Panthers went to a 3-0 victory.

After the game, several Rangers players spoke up about Lafreniere's gaffe and all rallied around him in defended his overall play during the game and during the season.

"He was in the right spot. He worked so hard to get back to that spot, stop in the crease, that's what we want," Chris Kreider said. "He's the low guy, it's a bad bounce, but that's hockey. We know the kind of player he is, we said a couple of things to him, but he'll respond, he'll pick himself up, and we'll pick him up, too."

Lafrenière has been dominant this playoff as through 11 games he has scored four goals with six assists for 10 points. This also capped off his best season with the Rangers as through 82 games he has scored 28 goals with 29 assists for 57 points and is a + 2 with 40 penalty minutes.

"Everyone's probably been in that situation - I mean, every defenseman has," Jacob Trouba said. "Just a tough bounce, obviously, not what he was trying to do. It's nothing to even worry about. It should be out of his head already by now. Just one of those unfortunate breaks."

It's safe to say that the Rangers and Lafrenière will bounce back in game two and will be much more prepared for what they will face as the Panthers have shown that they can dominate a game from start to finish and with the superb goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky now, the rangers will need to adjust their game in the offensive zone and in defense.

Source : The Hockey News - Rangers Show Support For Alexis Lafrenière Following Brutal Own Goal