"Absolutely bullying the Rangers" "Rempe flopped hard" - NHL fans react as Panthers' Dmitry Kulikov bodies Matt Rempe into the boards

On Friday, the Florida Panthers battled the New York Rangers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov delivered a forceful check on Rangers center Matt Rempe in the game, which sent him into the boards.

The incident quickly drew attention on X, where Spittin' Chiclets, a hockey podcast, shared a video of the hit with the caption:

"Kulikov just demolished Rempe."

NHL fans had varied reactions to the post.

One fan expressed amusement and astonishment at the physicality displayed by the Panthers:

"Lmao the Panthers are absolutely bullying the Rangers in their own barn … insane to see really."

However, not everyone was convinced of the severity of the hit.

"Eh. Soft hit but Rempe flopped hard," A fan tweeted.

"Demolished is a stretch," one fan tweeted.

"Kulikov is no joke. You don't want to get in his way, not even if you're Rempe," one fan tweeted.

"He bumped into him. Jesus," a fan tweeted.

Another viewer attributed the collision to Matt Rempe's skating rather than Kulikov's aggression:

"More like Rempe skating with reckless abandon. Love it," the fan commented

The debate continued with another fan remarking on Matt Rempe's ability to stay on his feet:

"He barely touched him, but Rempe can’t skate so that's all it really takes to knock him over," a fan commented

Amid the discussion about the hit, the game itself delivered high drama. Barclay Goodrow's goal at 14:01 of overtime helped New York secure a 2-1 victory over Florida.

Matt Rempe and the Rangers have tied the series

New York Rangers have tied the series with this win. Replacing Kaapo Kakko, Matt Rempe energized the team, while Barclay Goodrow scored the decisive goal in overtime. This was Goodrow's fourth postseason goal, matching his regular-season total.

“It was great, a massive goal. A really clutch goal. We were playing good, they were playing good. A tight game. Obviously, we didn’t like our Game 1. Tonight was a big game and we played well,” Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere said.

“When you see someone who does so many other things to help a team be successful, I’m really happy for a guy like that to make a huge impact in the game tonight,” Peter Laviolette, Rangers’ head coach, said.

The Rangers needed this win to avoid a two-game home deficit. Vincent Trocheck contributed with an early goal and assisted on the winner, while goalie Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves.

Despite Carter Verhaeghe's power-play goal and Sergei Bobrovsky's 29 saves, the Panthers fell short, and their eleven-game postseason overtime streak ended. The series now shifts to Florida for games 3 and 4.