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Panthers vs. Rangers score, results: Florida punches ticket to Stanley Cup Final with Game 6 win

The Panthers defeated the Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 to clinch their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final

The Florida Panthers have clinched a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Florida defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 on Saturday to come away victorious in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Panthers have become the first team to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons since the Tampa Bay Lightning accomplished the feat in 2022. 

Sam Bennett continued his stellar performance during the Eastern Conference Final. Bennett registered his team-leading fourth goal of the series, and now has a three-game goal streak.

The Panthers opened the scoring in the final minute of the first period. At the 19:10 mark, forward Evan Rodrigues had the puck in the offensive zone and dropped it off to Bennett. Bennett then uncorked a thunderous one-timer from the face-off circle that landed in the back of the net.

Florida added another goal at the 10:52 mark of the third period. Forward Anton Lundell put a pass right on the tape of Vladimir Tarasenko's stick for the bang-bang goal to give the Panthers a 2-0 advantage.

The Rangers did make the game a tad tighter in the final two minutes. Rangers star Artemi Panarin scored with 1:40 to go in the third period, but Florida was able to outlast New York to win the Eastern Conference for the second consecutive season.

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 of the 23 shots that he faced. Bobrovsky ended up allowing two or fewer goals in five of the six games in the Eastern Conference Final.

New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers schedule, results

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Game 6: Panthers 2, Rangers 1

The Florida Panthers will represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season. Florida defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 to close out the highly-contested series.

The Panthers have become the first team to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons since the Tampa Bay Lightning did so in 2022. 

The Panthers got into the scoring column late in the opening period. At the 19:10 mark of the first period, forward Evan Rodrigues had the puck in the offensive zone and dropped it off to Sam Bennett. Bennett then uncorked a thunderous one-timer from the face-off circle that landed in the back of the net.

It was Bennett's team-leading fourth goal of the series, and gives the veteran winger three points over the last two games. Bennett now has a three-game goal streak entering the Stanley Cup Final.

Panthers forward Vladimir Tarasenko tallied what ended up being the game-winning goal with 10:52 remaining in the third period. The Rangers didn't go quietly as Artemi Panarin netted a goal at the 18:20 mark of the final period to make it a 2-1 game.

Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22-of-23 shots in Game 6. Bobrovsky finished the series by allowing two or fewer goals in five of the six games throughout the Eastern Conference Final.

 

Game 5: Panthers 3, Rangers 2

After initially falling behind 1-0 in the second period, the Florida Panthers were able to compile three goals over the final two periods to earn a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Panthers forward Anton Lundell was responsible for scoring the go-ahead goal with 9:38 remaining in the third period. On the play, Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen dished the puck off to Lundell. In the neutral zone. Lundell then was able to skate his way in and rip a shot past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

The goal was Lundell's first goal of the Eastern Conference Final and his first tally since Game 6 of the second round against the Boston Bruins.

The Panthers also got a tremendous performance from goaltender Sergei Bobrobsky, who stopped 25 of 27 shots to keep the Rangers from doing a ton of damage. Bobrovsky has now yielded two or fewer goals in four of the five games in the series.

New York's lone goal came at the 2:04 mark of the second period. Following a Matthew Tkachuk turnover at the Rangers blue line, Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad slid the puck over to Chris Kreider and was able to tuck a backhander into the net.

The Panthers were able to tie the game just eight minutes later. Center Sam Bennett slipped the puck to a cutting Gustav Forsling, who found the back of the net on a backhanded shot for the second time in his last three games. 

Bennett finished with two points in Game 5 after he scored an empty-net tally that extended Florida's lead to 3-1 late in the final period.

Now the Panthers will have a chance to close out the series in Game 6 in South Florida on Saturday night.

 

Game 4: Panthers 3, Rangers 2 (OT)

The Florida Panthers made the most of their power-play opportunity early in overtime during Game 4. As a result of some impressive puck movement, Panthers forward Sam Reinhart ripped a one-timer into the back of the net to give the Panthers a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers.

Over the past two games, Reinhart has tallied three goals, including a pair of goals in Game 3. It also marked the first overtime loss for the Rangers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Panthers and Rangers engaged in a back-and-forth affair throughout the night.

The Rangers were able to find the back of the net first in Game 4. At the 8:51 mark of the opening period, forward Vincent Trocheck was able to win a face-off, and got open in the slot. Teammate Artemi Panarin found an open Trocheck in the slot, and Trocheck sent a scorching one-timer past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

The tally was Trocheck's eighth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which is tied for third in the NHL this postseason. It also was just New York's second power-play goal in their last 19 opportunities on the man advantage.

Midway through the second period, center Sam Bennett was able to tie the game by just inches. Bennett skated in and let a shot go from face-off circle that Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin got a piece of. However, the puck had just enough spin to cross the goal line behind Shesterkin to tie the game at 1-1.

The Panthers didn't stop there as forward Matthew Tkachuk helped set up the go-ahead goal. Teammate Carter Verhaeghe had the puck bounce off of him along with Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren before Verhaeghe batted it home to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

The Rangers didn't go away as winger Alexis Lafreniere was able to tie the game at 2-2 when he redirected an Adam Fox shot attempt past Bobrovsky.

When it was all said and done, Bobrovsky turned in a strong performance as he turned aside 21 of the 23 shots that he faced. The series now shifts back to New York for Game 5 on Thursday.

 

Game 3: Rangers 5, Panthers 4 (OT)

For the second straight game, the Rangers defeated the Panthers in overtime. This time around, Alex Wennberg was the hero for New York as he deflected a shot past Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky to win Game 3 and give his team a 2-1 series lead.

The game-winning goal initially looked like a harmless play. The Rangers won an offensive zone draw, and Ryan Lindgren just threw a puck toward the net from the blue line. On its way to Bobrovsky, the shot caught a piece of Wennberg's glove and changed direction to beat Bobrovsky.

Things did get a little hairy for the Rangers after they took a 4-2 lead into the third period. Goals from Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling, just 1:54 apart, tied the game and brought the noise level inside Amerant Bank Arena to a crescendo.

The Panthers continued to push for the winning goal, but Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin made some show-stopping saves to get the game to overtime. In another strong postseason effort from Shesterkin, he stopped 34 of Florida's 38 shots on goal.

Two Rangers, Barclay Goodrow and Vincent Trocheck, kept their red-hot postseasons going with big-time production in Game 3. Barclay Goodrow scored a pair of goals, giving him two more playoff goals (6) than regular-season goals (4). Also, Trocheck took sole possession of second all-time in franchise history with his eighth multi-point game of the playoffs.

Florida has now lost two games that could have gone either way, and it will try to even the series on home ice in Game 4. That one gets started at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday

 

Game 2: Rangers 2, Panthers 1 (OT)

The Rangers have tied the Eastern Conference Final at one game apiece after a dramatic Game 2 victory. With just 5:59 left in overtime, forward Barclay Goodrow was able to swat the puck out of midair, and got the puck back to rip a shot past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrobsky.

In addition to Goodrow's heroics, Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin had a tremendous performance in the crease as he stopped 25 of the 26 shots that he faced on the night. 

In a game that the Rangers likely needed to have, they got off to a strong start in the opening period.

Just 4:12 into the contest, Rangers star Artemi Panarin brought the puck into the zone and dished it off to Vincent Trocheck. After Trocheck's pass was broken up, defenseman Adam Fox was able to come up with the puck, and slid it over to a wide-open Trocheck for the tap-in goal in front.

The Panthers were able to answer on the power-play with 1:51 remaining in the first period. Forward Carter Verhaeghe skated his way into the slot and sent an on-ice shot past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Fellow forward Evan Rodrigues provided a screen in front to make Verhaeghe's goal possible.

The goal was the eighth tally of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for Verhaeghe, which marked a new career-high. It's the first time that Verhaeghe has scored goals in back-to-back games since he scored in Games 4 and 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round.

The Rangers now own a 3-0 record when playing overtime games during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

 

Game 1: Panthers 3, Rangers 0

The Panthers began the Eastern Conference Final with a dominant performance as they defeated the New York Rangers 3-0.

The Panthers opened the scoring at the 16:26 mark of the first period. Forward Anton Lundell brought the puck in the zone and dished it off to teammate Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk then ripped a shot over the glove of Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

The two teams were scoreless after the first two periods. For the first time since April 1, the Rangers were held in the first two periods of a game.

The Panthers added an insurance goal late in the third period. Shesterkin attempted to shoot the puck out of the zone, but forward Carter Verhaeghe was able to keep it in. Verhaeghe then was able to flip the puck off of a defender and into the back of the net. Panthers forward Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal in the final two minutes to put the game away.

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