Panthers lean on playoff experience in Game 5 for latest tight win

NEW YORK -- Steeled by the experience of playing so many tight games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past two seasons, the Florida Panthers did not flinch when facing another one against the New York Rangers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final on Thursday.

Looking like a team that had been there before, the Panthers found a way to make the key play when they needed it again in a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden. This time, it was Anton Lundell scoring to break a 1-1 tie at 10:22 of the third period and helping Florida take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

The Panthers can close it out and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season with another win in Game 6 at home on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS, CBC), but they say they’re not thinking in those terms, yet.

“I don’t think we’ve thought about it at all,” forward Sam Bennett said. “Our approach is one game at a time. We’ve got business to take care of still and all we’re thinking about is Game 6 at home. So, that’s our entire focus is on that game right now.”

It would be understandable if the Panthers thought ahead a little. They’ve been on a mission to return to the Cup Final since they fell three victories short of winning their first championship last season by losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

But, through their experience, they know how small the margin of error is in these playoff series. Their path to the Cup Final last season was filled with games like the one they played Thursday with 10 of their 13 playoff wins coming by one goal, including all four in their sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.

Florida has six one-goal wins this postseason, including two in this series. Even the Panthers’ 3-0 win in Game 1 against the Rangers was a one-goal game before they scored twice late.

So, they were comfortable tied 1-1 heading to the third period Thursday.

“I feel like our whole season we just try to play the same way and when the playoffs started, we’ve been through it,” Lundell said. “We’ve been playing tight games. We’ve been in the pressure, and we just try to go out there and enjoy it, and I think that’s our strength.”

The Panthers even seemed unfazed when they fell behind 1-0 on Chris Kreider’s short-handed goal 2:04 into the second period. They kept their cool and responded with Gustav Forsling’s backhand over goalie Igor Shesterkin’s glove at 8:21.

“We have experience of what it’s like to be on the bench and down one or even in the game and we’re fine,” coach Paul Maurice said. “And I do believe that experiential, yeah.”

The Panthers also have confidence in these situations because they know the third period is often their best. They’ve outscored opponents 23-10 in third periods in the playoffs, which is in stark contrast to their 13-9 deficit in goals in first periods.

“I think we have great composure in the games,” said Bennett, who set up Forsling’s tying goal. “Our starts haven’t been great, haven’t been what we’ve wanted, but it just seems like as the game goes on, we’re getting better and better. I think that contributes to our composure and we just keep playing the same way and not try to change our game.”

The Panthers pushed for the go-ahead goal from the start of the third period, and, as he has done for most of the series, Shesterkin thwarted some of their best scoring chances. That included a between-the-legs shot from Lundell 1:41 into the third and anther by linemate Eetu Luostarinen at 5:08.

Florida finally broke through on a rush play with Vladimir Tarasenko driving to the net to provide a screen before Lundell’s left-circle shot beat Shesterkin over his blocker on the short side.

“We just had chances after chances and just kept grinding and trusted that we’re going to get the chance and a goal,” Lundell said. “And when we got it, we really just tried to stay on top of them and keep the lead.”

Bennett’s empty-net goal with 1:52 remaining made it 3-1 before Alexis Lafreniere scored a 6-on-5 goal for New York with 50 seconds left, turning this into another one-goal win for Florida.

“I think it helps a lot just to know the grind and how hard it is, how much it takes to have success,” Bennett said. “To make it this far, it takes a lot and I think we learned a lot last year. We made some mistakes and we’ve just grown as a group, and I think we’ve seen even more leadership from the entire group, younger guys, older guys.

“And it’s pretty cool to see all the guys stepping up and leading in different ways.”

After Lundell was the one to step up Thursday, the Panthers are close enough to returning to the Cup Final to get excited. They just need to control it for one more win.

“Right now, we just need to recover and think about that and when the game comes, you think about the game,” captain Aleksander Barkov said. “That’s all we can do.”