SUNRISE, Fla. – It’s right there for the taking.
With a chance to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season and the third time in franchise history, the Florida Panthers will try to close out the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
If the Panthers manage to push past the Rangers, they’ll become the first team to reach the Stanley Cup Final after losing the previous year since the Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2009.
"You've got to treat it like a regular game, especially with how tight this series is,” Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour said. “Each shift is so crucial. Again, this is a team that's on the brink of their season being finished. We expect their best. It’s going to be a nice loud building for us. You’re going to get our best as well. It’s going to be a good game.”
Coming from behind to take a 3-2 lead in the series, the Panthers enter tonight’s matchup following a 3-2 win over the Rangers in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
After a scoreless first period, the Rangers broke the ice when Chris Kreider, who’d gone without a point in the first four games of the series, scored shorthanded to make it 1-0.
Answering before the intermission for the Panthers, Gustav Forsling, who’s become a household name around the NHL during this year’s playoff run, took a no-look pass from Sam Bennett and roofed a backhand into the top of the cage to even the scored at 1-1.
Near the midway point of the third period, 22-year-old Anton Lundell sent the Panthers ahead when he slipped a shot under Igor Shesterkin’s blocker with a snipe from the left circle in transition to make it 2-1. Later, Bennett added and empty-netter to make it 3-1.
With less than a minute left, Alexis Lafrenière cut New York’s deficit to 3-2.
“I think we can a little better start, but we battled for a full 60 minutes,” Bennett said of Game 5. “We stuck to our game. We didn’t try and cheat the game at all. It was just a full, solid effort.”
As it has been throughout the series, the Panthers simply got better as the game went on.
In the third period of Game 5, they essentially dominated the Rangers at 5-on-5, leading 14-7 in shots on goal, 12-6 in scoring chances and 8-2 in high-danger shot attempts. Over the course of their playoff run, the Panthers have a 23-13 advantage in goals in the third period.
Whether it’s their relentless forecheck wearing down opponents or their knack for coming up in the clutch, the Panthers feel their confidence truly grows the longer the game goes on.
“I think we just try and stay patient throughout the game,” Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund said. “Even if we have a bad start or something, we know we’re good in the third.”
Trying to dig themselves out of a hole in the series, the Rangers are searching for answers.
The areas thought to be their strengths heading into the series simply haven’t been.
While Vincent Trocheck (two goals, three assists) and Lafrenière (four goals) have been doing their part, New York’s other top players haven’t been able to muster much against Florida, which has done an exceptional job slowing down a usually potent Rangers offense.
Artemi Panarin, who had a career-high 120 points in the regular season, has dished out just three assists, while Mika Zibanejad and Kreider, two-thirds of the team’s top line, have combined for just one goal and three assists. On the blue line, Adam Fox has three helpers.
Part of that lack of production has been due to the Panthers’ excellent penalty kill.
Entering the series operating at over 30% with the man advantage, the Rangers have gone just 1-for-14 on the power play against the Panthers, good enough for a 7.1% success rate.
By comparison, Florida is executing at 27.8% with the extra attacker in the series.
“The D core is three forwards, too,” Montour said when asked about the team’s success on defense. “I think you just kind of pay attention to who’s out there. I think we’ve done a good job of getting in their face early, staying on them pretty tight. Any skill player or any player that likes to play with the puck and create offense, it’s frustrating for them when they don’t have much space. I think we’ve done a good job holding them to as little as we can.”
In the end, big games often come down to big goaltending.
For both teams, they can count on their guy between the pipes.
Giving up two or fewer goals in nine of his last 10 starts, Sergei Bobrovsky has been lights out for the Panthers when called upon in the series. Starting out with a shutout in Game 1, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner owns a solid .913 save percentage against the Rangers.
Keeping the Rangers in the series, Shesterkin has been playing like a man possessed, posting a .934 save percentage while doing everything he can to keep the games close. Through just five games, he’s already faced 47 high-danger shots, stopping 41 of them.
“He’s been unbelievable, really for the last two years,” Bennett said of Bobrovsky. “He gives us so much confidence back there. We know we can count on him to make a couple big saves if there’s ever a breakdown. He’s been incredible. All you can ask for is a goalie you can count on, and we can count on Bobby.”
With just one more win blocking their path back to the promised land, the Panthers, as they’ve learned over the last two seasons, know this game will essentially come down to one battle.
Desire vs. Desperation.
“I’m not a huge believer in momentum at all,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. “Both teams have an energy source here tonight. They have the advantage of the desperation source and, maybe I don’t have the right word, we have the desire.”
PANTHERS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Verhaeghe (9)
Assists: Tkachuk (14)
Points: Tkachuk (19)
Hits: Ekblad (53)
Blocks: Montour (27)
RANGERS PLAYOFF LEADERS
Goals: Trocheck, Kreider (8)
Assists: Zibanejad (13)
Points: Trocheck (19)
Hits: Trouba, Trocheck (55)
Blocks: Trouba (71)
THEY SAID IT
“I think it’s just a continuation of what we’ve seen. I think the speed amps up. The team that closest to their identity wins, whether it’s an elimination game or not. How fast and quick you can get to your identity wins the game.” – Paul Maurice
“It’s going to be their best. Each game has been so close. With our group, especially, if we’re down or on the brink we’re going to play the same way. That’s our mindset. We’re going to bring it. They’re going to obviously bring it.” – Brandon Montour
“[The penalty kill] starts with faceoffs. You win that, you kill off a good amount of seconds. After that, we just pressure. It’s a lot of pressure. [We try] to not give them time and space.” – Kevin Stenlund
FIVE CATS STATS
- The Panthers have six come-from-behind wins this postseason.
- Sam Bennett has lit the lamp in each of the last two games.
- Gustav Forsling is riding a three-game point streak (2G, 1A).
- The Panthers have out-shot their opponents in 14 of 16 games this postseason.
- The Panthers own a 93.9% penalty kill success rate over their last 12 games.
PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
Matthew Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Evan Rodrigues
Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Vladimir Tarasenko
Steven Lorentz – Kevin Stenlund – Kyle Okposo
Defensemen
Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola – Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
- May 6: F Patrick Giles recalled from Charlotte (AHL)
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN
When: Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena – Sunrise, FL
TV & Streaming: ABC, ESPN+
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 92.1 WZZR (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 101.7 WCZR (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Channel 220 / App & Streaming 932; Panthers App
Tickets: Here
