Panthers vs. Rangers, Game 2: Lomberg Has Hit of Playoffs

With all the talk of Matt Rempe jumping into the Rangers lineup, the biggest hit of the game — perhaps this entire playoff seasons — may have come from Ryan Lomberg of the Panthers.

Perhaps the Miami Dolphins may want to give him a call before training camp starts.

Lomberg, who returned to the Florida lineup in Game 6 against the Bruins, put a flying hit on New York’s Mika Zibanejad to free up the puck in the neutral zone.

The hit came with 6:21 left in a raucous first period — one filled with fists and hits.

New York opened the scoring at 4:12 of the first when Carter Verhaeghe got hit in the offensive zone by Alexis Lafreniere and lost the puck which ended up on the stick of a wide-open Vincent Trocheck on the backdoor.

Lomberg says hello to Zibanejad 👋 pic.twitter.com/WUh3YGUcvf

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) May 25, 2024

Verhaeghe then dropped Lafreniere, setting off a melee as the Rangers’ goal song played throughout Madison Square Garden.

Matthew Tkachuk ended up on top of Trocheck and joined Verhaeghe in the penalty box for roughing; Lafreniere also got 2 minutes.

Midway through the first, Dmitry Kulikov slammed Alex Wennberg as he came through the neutral zone — long after Wennberg got rid of the puck.

Kulikov was called for interference and officials reviewed it for a 5-minute major.

It was just a minor.

Kulikov's hit on Wennberg gets reviewed as a major, gets reduced to an interference minor pic.twitter.com/zcDKWhuRla

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 25, 2024

Florida killed off two power plays in the opening period — with Verhaeghe tying it at 1 on a power-play shot from the slot with 1:51 remaining in the period.

“No one,’’ Paul Maurice told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, “has been arrested yet.’’

Stay tuned.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL

FLORIDA PANTHERS (ATL1) V. NEW YORK RANGERS (MET1)

GAME 3

• When: Sunday, 3 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• National TV: ABC
• Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM; WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (West Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); WCZR 101.7-FM (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL app
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Florida 3, @New York 0; Game 2: Florida at New York, Friday; Game 3: New York at Florida, Sunday 3 (ABC); Game 4: Rangers at Panthers, Tuesday 8 (ESPN): Game 5*: Panthers at Rangers, Thursday May 30, 8 (ESPN); Game 6*: Rangers at Panthers, Saturday June 1, 8 (ABC); Game 7*: Panthers at Rangers, Monday June 3, 8 (ESPN). (*) — If Necessary.
• How They Got Here: Florida d. Tampa Bay 4-1, Boston 4-2; Rangers d. Washington 4-0, Carolina 4-2.
• Last Season vs. Rangers — Regular Season: Rangers won 3-0
• This Season (Panthers Won 2-1) — At Florida: Panthers 4 Rangers 3 (Dec. 29). At MSG: Panthers 4, Rangers 2 (March 4); Rangers 4, Panthers 3 OT (March 23).
• All-time Regular Season Series: Rangers lead 61-34-8, 6 ties
• Postseason History: Rangers Lead 1-0 (1997 1st)