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The Panthers entered the third trailing 2-1, but they tied the
score on a goal by MacKenzie Weegar and went ahead on
Verhaeghe's wrist shot. Anthony Duclair followed with Florida's
third goal of the period.
New York pulled goalie Igor Shesterkin (28 saves) for an extra
attacker and got a Chris Kreider goal with 45 seconds left,
cutting its deficit to 4-3. But the Rangers ran out of time as
they searched for the equalizer.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves to earn the win. Rookie Anton
Lundell scored Florida's other goal.
The Rangers (Dec. 17) and Panthers (Dec. 16) each played their
first game after a league-wide hiatus. Both squads entered the
game ranked among the top six in the NHL in points percentage.
Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad each had one goal and one
assist for New York.
The Panthers, who lead the NHL in home wins (15-3-0), prevailed
for the first time since Dec. 10. They hadn't won a home game
since Dec. 4.
New York, tied for second in the league in road wins (11-5-2),
opened the scoring with 11:08 gone in the first period as Ryan
Strome's long pass connected with Panarin on a breakaway,
one-on-one with Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. Panarin
stickhandled the puck behind his back and let it trail between
his legs, leaving Ekblad flailing. Panarin then slipped the puck
between Bobrovsky's pads to complete a spectacular play.
The Panthers, though, stayed in the game by killing the only two
penalties in the first period.
Florida tied the score with 5:09 expired in the second. The play
started with a Panarin turnover collected by Ryan Lomberg, whose
shot was saved by Shesterkin. Gustav Forsling gathered and shot
from the circle. Shesterkin stopped the puck again, but this
time he left a juicy rebound in the slot for Lundell.
Panarin atoned for his mistake later in the second, stealing the
puck from Radko Gudas and dishing a backhander to his right.
Zibanejad came racing in to collect the pass and scored on an
open right side of the net.
The Panthers tied the score with 14:04 left in the third on the
goal by Weegar. Verhaeghe's wrist shot deflected in off of
Shesterkin's blocker, and Duclair scored with 5:20 left on a
blistering shot just below the crossbar.
Duclair's goal helped Florida withstand New York's rally, which
featured Kreider's tap-in tally.
--Field Level Media
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