Panthers Outduel Rangers

     The Florida Panthers outbattled the New York Rangers 5-3 on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena. It was the final game for the Panthers in the 2024 calendar year. It capped off a year where Florida captured their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history and their second straight Eastern Conference title. 

     The Panthers leaped to first place in the Atlantic Division while the Blueshirts remained last in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers have lost four straight games and seven of their last eight contests. 

     Florida(23-13-2) sprung out to a 1-0 lead at the 3:04 mark of the first period. Gustav Forsling shot the puck from the left point and Eetu Luostarinen redirected it from the low slot past Igor Shesterkin for his sixth goal of the campaign. 

     It became 2-0 for the Panthers at 5:21. Mackie Samoskevich zipped a pass from the left corner and Uvis Balinskis sent a cross-ice pass from the left point. Dmitry Kulikov skated across the ice and snapped a rising shot from above the left circle that grazed off the body of Samoskevich in the blue paint for his seventh career goal. 

     New York(16-19-1) closed it to 2-1 with 5:35 left in the second period. Brett Berard released a shot from the right wing which was saved. Filip Chytil slide the puck on a forehand shot from the top of the crease by Sergei Bobrovsky for his seventh goal of the year. 

     The Rangers tied the game 2-2 with 3:43 to go in the second. Sam Carrick angled a pass from the left wing. Adam Fox fed the puck from the top of the zone and Ryan Lindgren redirected it from the low slot for his second goal this season. 

     The Cats regained the lead 3-2 with 3:05 remaining in the period. Jesper Boqvist put in his sixth goal of the season on a wrist shot from the left of the crease into a half-open net. 

     In the third period, the Blueshirts evened it 3-3 with the man advantage at the 5:19 mark. Former Panthers player Vincent Trocheck passed ahead from above the left circle. Artemi Panarin centered the puck from the low left circle and Chris Kreider blasted a one-time slap shot from the slot area for his 12th goal of the season. 

     The Panthers bounced back to make it 4-3 with 8:22 left in the third. Adam Boqvist powered a slap shot from the high slot which was stopped. Jesper Boqvist tapped in the rebound from the right of the crease for his second tally of the game and seventh goal in 2024-25. 

     New York pulled their goalie on a power play with 2:45 to go. Florida made it 5-3 with 36.5 seconds remaining in the third when Aleksander Barkov backhanded a shot from the inner left circle into an empty net for his 11th goal this season.