By most counts, the Florida Panthers had a strong performance against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Florida had 108 attempts to score compared to New York’s 44, with 37 shots on goal against New York’s 23. The Panthers scored two power-play goals and successfully defended against both of the Rangers’.
They fought back from a two-goal deficit by scoring two goals within two minutes of each other in the third period, sending the game into overtime with momentum on their side. Despite their efforts, they lost.
New York’s Alex Wennberg scored the game-winning goal 5:35 into overtime, deflecting the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky. The Rangers managed to hold off a series of shot attempts from Florida in the final minutes to secure a 5-4 victory.
This defeat marked the Panthers’ second consecutive loss in the postseason, a first for them. With this win, New York took a 2-1 lead in the series.
Panthers center Sam Reinhart, who scored two power-play goals, expressed frustration over the loss, emphasizing the need to address mistakes that led to the Rangers’ goals.
New York took the lead in the second period with a goal from Alexis Lafreniere, followed by a shorthanded goal from Barclay Goodrow. Despite this setback, Florida’s captain Aleksander Barkov remained optimistic, acknowledging the team’s need to improve their performance.
The Panthers responded in the third period, with goals from Barkov and Gustav Forsling within two minutes of each other to even the score. However, despite numerous late chances to win the game, they were unable to capitalize. They attempted 24 shots in the final 8:10 of the third period, but only six of those were on target and required saving.
