The Rangers are coming off a reality check-in loss to the defending champion Panthers

This game was a memory for the Rangers.

A reminder that the next best team could always be waiting around the corner, with the ability to bring them back down to earth, no matter how authoritative they may seem at that moment.

The Panthers, the reigning Stanley Cup champions and the club that knocked them out of the playoffs in the conference finals last season, were the team Thursday night at Madison Square Garden where the visitors handed the Blueshirts their first regulation loss of the season by 3 -1.

Just as Florida defeated the Rangers in the third-round playoff series after riding high with just two postseason losses, the Panthers prevailed again in their first meeting of the 2024-25 season after the Ranges largely defeated both teams Their previous five opponents had demolished.

“I didn’t like the whole night,” head coach Peter Laviolette said bluntly. “I didn’t like any of it. Tonight everything goes into a bag where it wasn't good enough. You can talk about the five-on-five game, you can talk about the defense, the offense, the power play and the penalty kill.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve performed like that so far this season, but that’s exactly what happened tonight.”

There weren't many bumps or bruises in this game, but the Panthers didn't need their physicality. They beat the Rangers with their play around the net, disrupting the neutral zone and taking advantage of any pucks the home team sent to the middle of the ice.

The fact that Sergei Bobrovsky rediscovered his brilliance after the Florida goalie conceded three to five goals in five of his last six starts only caused more problems for a Rangers team that has had no trouble scoring goals so far this season .

With 24 saves on 25 shots, Bobrovsky became the fastest goalie in NHL history to reach 400 wins, surpassing Henrik Lundqvist as the Hall of Fame Rangers goalie watched from the Garden stands.

Furthermore, the Rangers showed no particular energy or emotion in their first game against the team that ended their last season.

“It was just sloppy on our part,” said Adam Fox, whose deft pass to Alexis Lafreniere in the first period proved to be the Rangers’ only goal of the game. “We didn’t play like that in the first six games.”

The Panthers did to the Rangers what the Rangers have done to all of their opponents lately: they gave in early.

It took all of 44 seconds for the Panthers to score first when Anton Lundell was left alone to capitalize on a shot from Sam Reinnhart as the Blueshirts overloaded the right side.

Florida repeatedly pushed the Rangers into their zone. The neutral zone belonged to the Panthers. Rangers losing the ball only made things worse.

The Panthers were able to fend off a weak attempt to clear the ball off the boards before Carter Verhaeghe scored in less than three minutes to make the game 2-0.

However, Sam Bennett's tip on former Ranger Niko Mikkola's shot less than seven minutes into the second period proved disappointing.

The Rangers weren't even able to get four power play opportunities on offense. The six-on-four stretch with Shesterkin on the bench wasn't enough either. The Rangers' man advantage totaled five shots on goal, but none came from a sharp Bobrovsky.

The Rangers continually reiterated that this game was not who they are.

But for 60 minutes on Thursday night, there was no indication that the Rangers had closed the gap on the Panthers team we saw in May.

“I thought they were better in the first half,” Laviolette said. “I thought they were better in the second half. They were better in the third. For me we are better. We didn’t play like that tonight.”