Panthers Outlast Rangers

     The Florida Panthers played their second game of a five-game home stand and held off the New York Rangers 4-3 in a shootout at BB&T Center on Saturday night. The Panthers, who set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive home win, moved to a 15-3-1 record in their last 19 games. Frank Vatrano made his Panthers debut following his trade from the Boston Bruins.
     The Rangers started the first period with a 7-1 shot advantage in the opening nine minutes. They gave up 17 unanswered shots at Tampa Bay to begin their previous game.
     Florida(34-25-7) were able to score on their first power-play attempt with 14.8 seconds left in the period. Keith Yandle pushed a pass from the top of the zone to Vincent Trocheck in the right circle. His slap shot was stopped by Henrik Lundqvist, however the puck went behind him in the blue paint and Jonathan Huberdeau swept in the rebound for his 22nd goal of the season. It was his third goal in the last three games.
     The Panthers kept the momentum in the second period and extended their lead to 2-0 at the 8:13 mark. Huberdeau made a pass from the left circle that went beyond the reach of Trocheck as he charged the net from the right side. Trocheck recovered the puck at the goal line, backhanded a centering pass and Vatrano put in a forehand shot for his first goal in a Panthers uniform.
     New York(30-32-7) cut the deficit to 2-1 with 6:49 remaining in the frame. Neal Pionk sailed a wrist shot from the right point and it was deflected in by Mats Zuccarello for his 12th goal of the campaign.
     In the third period, the Rangers struck quickly 17 seconds in to tie the contest 2-2. Victor Rask dropped the puck in the high slot to Mika Zibanejad. He curled into the left circle and shoveled a backhand shot by Roberto Luongo for his 20th tally of the year.
     The Cats responded less than one minutes later at 1:02 to break the tie. Jamie McGinn scored the goal on assists from Alexander Petrovic and Jared McCann.
     It took until almost midway through the third for the Blueshirts to make it 3-3 at the 7:35 mark. Zuccarello fed the puck from the right wing to above the top right circle and Kevin Hayes snapped in a shot for his 20th goal.
     The game would be decided in a shootout. The Rangers converted on their first attempt as Zuccarello delayed and then followed with a forehand shot. The Panthers came back and scored on their final two attempts to get the victory. Barkov put in the second attempt and Trocheck clinched it with his tally.