Rangers ‘need to be better’ following Game 4 OT loss in Eastern Final

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Igor Shesterkin did what he could, and man was he good in doing it, but the New York Rangers couldn't survive again, not for a second straight road game against a team as good as the Florida Panthers.

Sam Reinhart's power-play goal 1:12 into overtime in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final gave the Panthers a 3-2 win at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday, evening the best-of-7 series 2-2.

"It stings now," Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said, "but we sleep, get some rest and get ready to focus for Game 5 at home."

Game 5 is at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC). The Rangers were good there in Game 2, winning an even game 2-1 on Barclay Goodrow's goal 14:01 into overtime.

But on their way home, before the puck drops in Game 5 and probably during it too, the Rangers simply must figure out a way to stop Florida's surges from lasting full periods at a time, because that is now a trend in this series after the past two games.

"I think we know what we have to do better, we know what we have to do more of and the recipe to get the game our way and to kind of tilt the ice the other way and go on the offensive," Zibanejad said. "Just got to do it more often."

They couldn't tilt the ice in the third period of Game 3 on Sunday, when the Panthers outshot the Rangers 13-4, had a 41-11 advantage in total shot attempts, and scored twice to come back from down 4-2 to force overtime.

The Rangers escaped with a 5-4 win in overtime thanks to Alex Wennberg's deflection goal. The final stat sheet showed them outshot 37-23 and out-attempted 108-43. The analytics alone suggest they should have lost the game.

That they didn't is a testament to their survival instincts.

Those instincts were tested again in Game 4, but stealing two wins here with the way they were on their heels and relying on their goalie to bail them out time and time again, that was too much to ask.

In the second period Tuesday, Florida outshot the Rangers 14-5, had a 33-10 advantage in total shot attempts and scored two goals, one on the power play, to come back from down 1-0 to bring a 2-1 lead into the third period.

New York, opportunistic as ever, tied the game on Alexis Lafreniere's third goal in two games here at 3:28 of the third period, but the Panthers' ferocious attack never stopped.

They outshot the Rangers 13-5 and out-attempted them 35-6 in the third period.

Overtime lasted 72 seconds, with the Panthers generating two scoring chances, one leading to a power play and the other being the game-winning power-play goal.

Put it together and after the first period in Game 4 Florida outshot the Rangers 29-10 and had a 70-16 advantage in shot attempts.

"We've got to be better," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We can't afford lapses like that. I don't have an explanation. It was the same thing, they come out, they're chasing it, they press and I didn't think the response was good to start the second period. We went in there, we had to kill some penalties from there. I definitely think we need to be better.”

The first period of Game 4 is proof the Rangers can be. They outshot the Panthers 13-11. They out-attempted them 28-19. They nearly had a 2-0 lead on a pair of power-play goals if not for Sergei Bobrovsky stopping Zibanejad's shot at 16:39 that was targeted for the net.

The shot instead hit Bobrovsky in the right shoulder, got behind him and hit the crossbar.

"Sometimes it's a tale of two games within a game," defenseman Adam Fox said. "That first period we were on our toes, skating, breaking out clean and playing more in their zone. Then after that it was a little bit too much one and done. You get in, maybe get a shot and they were breaking out, cycling in our zone and making us defend. That wears you out a bit. It's hard to really get going offensively when you're defending so much."

There are other issues the Rangers have to deal with and clean up.

Zibanejad and Chris Kreider don't have a point yet in the series. They've cycled through three right wings on their line; Jack Roslovic in Game 1, Filip Chytil in Games 2 and 3, and Kaapo Kakko got his turn midway through Game 4.

"I think those players that you're talking about, they want to get out of the defensive zone and they want to get into the offensive zone, where they can make an impact in the game," Laviolette said. "I thought we did a much better job at home controlling the play, but there was a spot in Game 3 and a spot in Game 4 here where we didn't get that push that we need out of the period, and it keeps guys from playing in the zone that they want to get to. They're not there."

To pile on, it was Zibanejad's pass into the skates of Blake Wheeler at the offensive blue line that led to the turnover that led to Wheeler having to hook Aleksander Barkov from behind 59 seconds into overtime, setting up the Panthers for the power play that led to Reinhart's goal.

"Obviously, I should have probably made a different play, decision, but I made the decision there and then and I can't change it now," Zibanejad said.

He can look ahead. The Rangers are. Game 5 is Thursday. They're home again, in control of the matchups with the energy from the Garden crowd pushing them.

It better push them in the direction of the offensive zone.