Rangers Slip By Panthers In Game 3

     The New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers in overtime 5-4 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Amerant Bank Arena on Sunday. It was the second straight game that it went into overtime. 

     The Rangers now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Game 4 will be held on Tuesday night at the same venue. 

     Florida broke out to a 1-0 lead on the power play at the 2:50 mark of the first period. Matthew Tkachuk pushed the puck from the right point and then Aleksander Barkov backhanded it from the right wing. Sam Reinhart skated across the right goal line and lifted a backhand shot from the crease area by Igor Shesterkin for his first tally of the series and sixth of the postseason. 

     New York evened it up 1-1 at 7:17 of the first. Jacob Trouba cleared the puck out of his own zone. Vincent Trocheck angled a pass at the red line. Alexis Lafreniere skated through the middle of the ice alone and scored his fifth postseason goal on a backhand shot from the low slot past Sergei Bobrovsky. 

     The Blueshirts scored 25 seconds later and they had a 2-1 lead. Will Cuylle cycled the puck from the right corner. Braden Schneider released a shot from the right point and Barclay Goodrow redirected it from the inner right circle for his fifth playoff goal. 

     The Panthers tied it 2-2 on another power-play goal with 5:14 left in the first. Carter Verhaeghe recovered a loose puck in the right circle and passed it ahead. Reinhart backhanded a shot from the right of the crease for his second goal of the contest. He became the first Florida player in franchise postseason history to score two power-play goals in one period. 

     In the second period, the Rangers moved ahead 3-2 with 4:37 remaining. K'Andre Miller sent an outlet pass from his own goal line. Lafreniere sprinted out of his zone and into the neutral zone. He rushed through the left circle, went around Dmitry Kulikov and eventually scored his second goal of the game on a backhand shot from the top of the crease. 

     New York pulled off a shorthanded goal with 1:46 to go for a two-goal margin 4-2. Trocheck skated around the Panthers cage and centered the puck from the left corner. Goodrow blasted a one-time slap shot from the left circle for his second tally of the contest. Ryan Lindgren was credited with a secondary assist on the play. 

     The Cats scored at the 5:04 mark of the third period and were down 3-2. Niko Mikkola handed the puck in the left circle and Verhaeghe sent a cross-ice pass from the left wing. It went off the body of Barkov inside the blue paint and into the net for his sixth goal in the playoffs. 

     Florida tied it up 4-4 at 6:58. Evan Rodrigues won the faceoff in the right circle. Tkachuk made a square pass from above the right circle. Gustav Forsling snapped a shot from the left-circle dot for his third goal of the postseason. 

     In overtime, the Rangers won it at 5:35. Jack Roslovic steered it from the left wing and Lindgren released a shot from the left point. Former Panther Alex Wennberg burned his former team as he deflected the puck in from the crease area for his first goal in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.