The Panthers will play in the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year and the third time in franchise history. The Cats have reached the Stanley Cup Final previously in 1996 and 2023.
It was the Panthers ninth home handshake line after a postseason game in team history. Florida was victorious to complete a playoff series at home for the fifth time ever.
The Cats will play in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final next Saturday night. The Rangers entered the postseason after winning the Presidents' Trophy during the regular season.
Florida leaped out to a 1-0 lead with 49.3 seconds left in the first period. Evan Rodrigues knocked down a loose puck in the neutral zone. Sam Bennett carried the puck into the Rangers zone and angled a pass to Rodrigues on the left wing. He returned it with a backhand pass and Bennett fired a one-time slap shot from the inner left circle by Igor Shesterkin for his sixth postseason goal. Bennett has a tally in each of the last three contests and collected his fourth goal in the series.
Neither team scored in the second period. The Panthers increased their lead to 2-0 at the 9:08 mark of the third period. Eetu Luostarinen pushed the puck from the left corner. Anton Lundell connected a cross-ice pass from the low left circle and Vladimir Tarasenko swept in a wrist shot from the right of the crease for his third goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It was Tarasenko's first point in the series against his former club.
New York added an extra attacker and pulled their goalie with 2:23 to go. The Blueshirts closed it to 2-1 with 1:39 remaining. Artemi Panarin snapped a shot from the right circle past Sergei Bobrovsky for his fifth goal of the postseason. Vincent Trocheck and Adam Fox were credited with assists on the play. Panarin stopped an eight-game goalless drought.
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