HC Peter Laviolette doesn't mince words after Rangers suffer first regulation loss

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Oct 25, 2024 06:48 GMT

The New York Rangers faced their first loss of the season, losing to the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Thursday.

HC Peter Laviolette did not hold back his dissatisfaction with his team's performance and pointed out the issues that arose in various areas, including 5v5 play.

"I didn't like the whole night. I didn't like any of it. Everything tonight goes into a bag where it wasn't good enough. You can talk about the 5v5 play, you can talk about the defense, the offense, the power play, the penalty kill. I wouldn't say that that's who we've shown to be so far in the season, but that's what happened tonight," Laviolette said, via the NY Post's Mollie Walker.

He added:

"I thought that they were better in the first. I thought that they were better in the second. They were better in the third. For me, we're better than that. We didn't play that way tonight."

Alexis Lafreniere was the lone scorer for the Rangers, while Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves. For the Panthers, Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe were the scorers while Sergei Bobrovsky ended the night in MSG with 25 saves.

The Rangers (5-1-1) are top of the Metro Division and fourth overall in the league standings with 11 points after seven games. They'll face the Anaheim Ducks next on Saturday.

New York Rangers ship Matt Rempe to AHL

After the game, the Blueshirts announced that enforcer Matt Rempe had been assigned to Hartford in the AHL. Insider Chris Johnston reported that the move is aimed at giving Rempe more playing time.

The Blueshirts hope that this experience will help Rempe develop and eventually return to the NHL in the future. He had only appeared in two games for the Rangers this season.

Rempe was drafted 165th overall by the Blueshirts in the 2020 NHL draft and instantly became a fan favorite after dropping his gloves in several fights during his debut season last term. Overall, he has picked up two points in his brief 19-game career.