Panthers eliminate Rangers with 2-1 win in Eastern Conference Final

Game 6 was do or die for the Rangers after trailing the Panthers, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Blueshirts’ dreams of a fifth Stanley Cup officially died at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night.
The Panthers defeated the Rangers, 2-1, and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in franchise history (1996, 2023) after winning the series, 4-2.
Last season, the Panthers lost in five games to the Golden Knights. Florida will face either Edmonton or Dallas in the Stanley Cup Final, which begins on June 8.
The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy to gain home ice throughout the postseason, just like in 1994. But unlike 1994, when they trailed the Devils in the Eastern Conference Final, the Rangers couldn’t find the magic to come back from a 3-2 deficit.
The Rangers lost three consecutive games to lose the series. It was their longest losing streak since January.
“It was difficult to score,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “Generating the quality of that we wanted to generate. We knew that coming in and we knew it with the way they finished the season, we knew it from their first round and the second round.
“Coming in, they weren’t giving up a lot, and ultimately, that was something we were able to do pretty consistently throughout the course of the year. You look at the scores, you look at the games low scoring goal games, ultimately, just trying to find that next goal.”
Sam Bennett got Florida’s first goal of the night after a one-timer with 50 seconds remaining in the first period. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored a third-period goal.
With 1:40 left, Artemi Panarin scored the Rangers’ lone goal.
Just like most of the series, the goaltending was superb. Sergei Bobrovsky registered 23 stops. Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin allowed two goals on 34 shots.
It was an evenly matched-game until late in the first period.
After Vincent Trocheck went to the penalty box for hooking, Florida got the game’s first power play. Although the Panthers had three chances to score a power play goal, the Rangers killed the penalty.
The Blueshirts had its first power play and a chance to take an early lead after Kyle Okposo was penalized for interference. Coming into Game 6, the Rangers were 1-for-14 in power play chances. They registered 10-for-25 power plays during the first two series against the Capitals and Hurricanes.
The Rangers’ power play struggles continued after they couldn’t record a goal while Okposo was in the penalty box.
The game remained tied until the final seconds of the first period. With 50 seconds left, Bennett got the Panthers on the board, 1-0, with a one-timer off a pass from Evan Rodrigues.
Bennett matched the record for the longest playoff goal streak (three). The Panthers entered Saturday’s game 7-0 when scoring first in potential-series clinching games.
Florida registered 13 shots in the opening period, while the Blueshirts had eight.
The game remained scoreless in the second period, and the Panthers outshot the Rangers, 11-9. Florida had an opportunity to extend its lead after K’Andre Miller turned the puck over to Bennett in the neutral zone, allowing Matthew Tkachuk to get a shot on goal. However, Shesterkin stopped the puck.
The Rangers had 278 goals during the regular season, seventh in the NHL. But they were controlled by the Panthers’ smothering defense and physical nature.
“It’s frustrating, we had our chances,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. “We were pushing, and obviously, we got one late. You try not to get frustrated on the bench, and we did a pretty good job to try and stay the course and, taking the next shift and trying to do something. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I thought we tried to throw everything that we had, but it wasn’t enough today.”
Florida didn’t want to sit on its 1-0 lead in the third period. The team was active and had four shots on goal in the first three minutes.
The Panthers had a scoring chance, but Shesterkin robbed Tarasenko.
With less than 15 minutes left, one of the linesmen got hit by a puck and went down on all fours, but he remained in the game.
Florida went up 2-0, 9:08 into the third period after Tarasenko’s wrist shot got past Shesterkin. Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen assisted on Tarasenko’s goal.
“Nobody gave up,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “I thought they competed, they just came up short.
“A one-goal game. The series, I don’t think you can say they don’t deserve to win; they definitely deserved to win the series. We were right there. We just came up a little short.”
The Rangers finally scored with 1:40 remaining, and Shesterkin out of the game with 2:24 left for an extra attacker. Panarin got a wrist shot past Bobrovsky, but the Rangers couldn’t score again to extend the series back to Madison Square Garden for Game 7.
“Our guys fought this year,” Laviolette said. “They bought in from the start, they fought. We make it to this point, it’s still disappointing.
“When you start something like this, you don’t do it to get three wins in the playoffs or five wins in the playoffs, you do it to go the whole way. There’s a disappointment right now that sets in for sure regarding our group.
“We are kind of dealing with that right now. We were expecting to come in here and win a hockey game and bring it back to MSG for a Game 7. There’s a disappointment that goes with that.”