Alex Wennberg scored in extra time and Alexis Lafrenière And Barclay Goodrow scored two regulation goals each on Sunday as the Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 5-4 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Sunrise, Florida.
Igor Shesterkin was exceptional – again – stopping 34 of 38 shots. He was tested several times when Florida could have taken the lead in the third period and not wilted. Overall, Florida outscored the Rangers 38-23, including 13-4 in the third period and 6-4 in OT.
The Rangers now lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one, and have regained home field advantage. The Rangers improved to 5-1 on the road in these playoffs, winning two straight OT games. Game 4 is Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Florida.
If you haven’t seen Lafrenière’s second goal yet, you will soon notice: it was a great highlight, a beautiful move. Goodrow’s second goal came short-lived, quickly breaking the momentum Florida hoped to gain on a four-minute power play in the second period.
Here are the key takeaways:
– The Rangers entered the third period with a 4-2 lead, but the Panthers roared back. They pulled within one with 14:56 to go Carter Verhaeghe shot the puck and it flew in Aleksander Barkov. Less than two minutes later, Florida scored again Gustav Forsling‘s snapshot beyond Shesterkin. Forsling also hit the post with about 8:00 left in the third. Shesterkin was fantastic for the rest of the period as the Panthers pushed hard to score another goal, including a stop on Matthew Tkachuk in front.
– The first period was wild. After scoring a combined six goals in the first two games (one of which went to extra time), they scored two each in the opening period. The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead, but the Rangers scored twice within 25 seconds and then allowed a second power play goal. First a beautiful passage through the neutral zone where we left Jacob Trouba Unpleasant Vincent Trocheck to Lafrenière, freeing Lafrenière through the middle and he scored on the backhand. It was Lafrenière’s fifth goal in the play-offs, but the first in five games. Shortly afterwards, Goodrow knocked a shot past Braden Schneider that gave him five goals in the play-offs – one more than in the entire regular season. Goodrow’s goal meant Rangers had equaled their previous score in the series in just seconds.
– Both Panthers goals in the first inning were scored by Sam Reinhart, who had 57 regular-season goals and led the NHL with 27 power-play goals. The first came on a delay of game penalty for Schneider, and Reinhart swung a backhand past Shesterkin. Later, one Matt Rempe A rough penalty set up a Panther power play and Reinhard scored with another backhand. The goal went in via Trouba’s skate after a K’Andre Miller The turnover allowed Florida to keep the puck on the offensive end. The Panthers were buzzing at the end of the first period and had Shesterkin working hard to keep the score even. Florida outscored the Rangers 16-8 in the first inning.
– Lafrenière’s second goal gave Rangers a 3-2 lead and was one of the best goals of the play-offs. With 4:37 left in the second, he made a nice toe move between two Panthers that freed him in front and he backhanded the puck past the Florida goalie. Sergei Bobrovsky. It all started with his spectacular rush down the left side, something Lafrenière probably dreamed of growing up playing hockey.
– Goodrow, who was the OT winner for the Rangers in Game 2, scored for the second time with 1:46 left in the second period on Sunday while the Panthers were in control. The Panthers slowly came back as the Rangers cleared the puck and Trocheck corralled the puck and fed Goodrow for a one-timer. Goodrow’s blast zoomed past Bobrovsky for a 4-2 Ranger lead.
– That particular Panther PP came when Trouba was whistled for two penalties in one series with 2:25 left in the second. He was already in the process of entering the box when he struck Evan Rodrigues with his elbow in the face. Rodrigues went down in pain and then skated to the locker room, although he was back quickly. Officials reviewed the elbowing to see if Trouba deserved a major penalty, but the Ranger captain was given two minutes for the slash and two minutes for elbowing, giving Florida a four-minute power play that lasted into the third.
With 7:34 left in the third period, it looked like the Rangers were going to have a huge power play when Barkov seemingly struck Mika Zibanejad with his stick in the face. A double-minor for high-sticking was originally called, but the officials reviewed the play and determined that Zibanejad’s own stick hit him in the face and no penalty was assessed.
– The Rangers entered the game with a penalty kill percentage of 88.4 percent, but allowed two power play goals in six Florida tries, although they scored a shortie. Meanwhile, the Rangers’ power play continued to sputter in the series and was shut out on both attempts Sunday. The Blueshirts are 0-for-8 in the series with a man advantage.
Who is the MVP?
Wennberg, of course. His tip-in from a Ryan Lindgren shot 5:35 into OT was Wennberg’s first goal in the playoffs and only his second as a Ranger since coming over in a trade deadline deal.
