RECAP: Panthers 3, Rangers 1

NEW YORK – It’s never boring in the Big Apple.

Handing the New York Rangers their first regulation loss of the season, the Florida Panthers got back to playing their game in a thrilling 3-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

“We just really wanted to defend first and hope the offense would come, and it did,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “It came early. Playing with the lead was crucial for us. Obviously, playing a team that we’ve had a little bit of a rivalry with going back to last year, it helped.”

Making 24 saves, Sergei Bobrovsky picked up the 400^th win of his career.

Just the 14^th goaltender in NHL history to reach 400 wins, the two-time Vezina Trophy winner also became the fastest to ever do so, accomplishing the feat in just 707 games.

Oddly enough, the old record was set by Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist with 727 games.

"It's special,” said Bobrovsky, who’s won 145 games as a Panther. “If you look at the list, those guys are legends. It's definitely a privilege to be on the same [list] with them."

Finding the back of the net for the fifth time in the last six games, Anton Lundell broke the ice just 44 seconds into the first period when he got all alone in front of New York’s set and fired a pass from Sam Reinhart past Igor Shesterkin to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes later, Carter Verhaeghe doubled the lead for the Panthers when he fired a laser into the back of the cage from the center of the left circle to make it 2-0 at 2:42. Answering for New York, Alexis Lafrenière tucked in a backhand shot to make it 2-1 at 4:44.

Helping to keep the Panthers on top, Bobrovsky came up in the clutch with two massive stops on the penalty kill late in the period. After stoning Chris Kreider on a point-blank shot from the left side of the net, he then denied the Rangers forward’s quick rebound attempt.

Adding another clip to his highlight reel in the second period, Bobrovsky made arguably his biggest save of the game when he kicked out his right pad and got his toe on a shot from Vincent Trocheck. Of his 14 saves through the first two periods, eight were high-danger.

“He had a lot [of saves] he had to be right on,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I think both goaltenders faced some really good shooters tonight and they both made good saves. I don’t know that teams necessary miss their offense, they made saves.”

Soon after Bobrovsky’s big save, Sam Bennett tipped in a shot from Niko Mikkola to put the Panthers up 3-1 at 6:59.

On fire, Bennett has lit the lamp in each of the last three games.

“He’s taking control,” Tkachuk said. “He’s skating well with the puck.”

Gaining some momentum at the start of the third period, the Panthers killed off their third penalty of the game. Despite the Rangers entering the game with the sixth-ranked power play in the NHL at 31.6%, Florida’s penalty kill came out on top in the special teams battle.

Not letting Bobrovsky hog all the spotlight, Shesterkin, a fellow Vezina Trophy winner, turned some heads of his own when he robbed Verhaeghe of a surefire goal on the power play with a slick glove save.

After the Panthers took a penalty with 3:03 left in regulation, the Rangers pulled Shesterkin for the 6-on-4 advantage, but still couldn’t get anything past Bobrovsky. Following their fourth and final kill of the game, the Panthers went on to lock it down until the final horn sounded.

Improving to 5-3-1, the Panthers have earned points in five of their last six games.

As for Bobrovsky, he’s going to enjoy this win just a little bit more.

“Enjoy this moment,” Bobrovsky said. “Enjoy every moment in hockey gear.”

THEY SAID IT

"He's the backbone of our team. What he's done, not many people have. I don't know if anyone has as fast as he has. What an incredible goalie." – Matthew Tkachuk on Sergei Bobrovsky

“That winning percentage is incredible. To do something like that with so many of the great netminders that this game has had, I’m really happy that he gets that recognition while he’s at the peak of his game.” – Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky

“He's a true professional." – Dmitry Kulikov on Sergei Bobrovsky

CATS STATS

- Sergei Bobrovsky is just the fourth undrafted goaltender to reach 400 wins.

- Sam Reinhart has recorded at least one point in seven of nine games this season.

- The Panthers led 26-18 in scoring chances at 5-on-5.

- Eetu Luostarinen led the team with five hits.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers will continue their tour of the Empire State with a matchup against the New York Islander at UBS Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

To follow the action, visit FloridaPanthers.com/HowToWatch.