Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette absolutely loses it over soft call

It's only Game 1, but the New York Rangers vs. Carolina Hurricanes series is off the charts! They turned up the intensity dial to eleven! Matt Rempe got called for goalie interference, but honestly, it looked like he got shoved into Fredrick Andersen by Jordan Staal.

New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette lost it on the bench, and who can blame him? Playoff officiating always gets a bit dicey, but it's heating up out there. As for Rempe's play, he did not interfere in my book, as a Carolina player pushed him. The Rangers are up 3-1 through two periods, with the difference being special teams. New York is 2-2 on the power play, while the Canes are 0-4.

Even more surprising is how the Blueshirts have exploited the league's best penalty kill, only needing 23 seconds to score twice on the man advantage.




Meanwhile, they've smothered Carolina by getting sticks in lanes and taking offensive chances when they appear. But the most pleasant surprise for the Rangers has been the 5v5 play so far, which many said would be their kryptonite. Yet through two periods, they've outshot the Canes 18-12 and lead 7-2 in slot shots, giving the high-octane visitors nothing to work with.

When things have broken down, Igor Shesterkin has been there for the Rangers, like stopping Stall on a breakaway. However, the stingy Caniacs aren't out of it. They've hit two posts and have disconnected on passes. That should straighten out in the third and as we go along in his series.