RECAP: Panthers 5, Rangers 3

SUNRISE, Fla. – Putting a bow on an unforgettable 2024, the Florida Panthers closed out the year with a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers at Amerant Bank Arena on Monday.

Improving to 23-13-2, Florida sits in first place in the Atlantic Division.

“It’s a good way to end the year,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We’ve had a spectacular and memorable year. It’s nice that our fans in the building tonight get to go home happy.”

Moved up to the second line for the game, Eetu Luostarinen broke the ice for the Panthers when he tipped in a shot from Gustav Forsling to make it 1-0 at 3:04 of the first period.

After being shut out in each of the two previous games, the goal was a welcome sight.

“It was nice to start it with an early goal and get the boys going,” Luostarinen said.

Doubling the lead just a few minutes later, Dmitry Kulikov broke free from a Rangers defender at the blue line and fired a shot that went off Mackie Samoskevich and into the cage to make it 2-0 at 5:21.

The Rangers challenged for goaltender interference, but the score stood.

Keeping the double-digit lead intact, Sergei Bobrovsky denied former Panther Vincent Trocheck on a shorthanded breakaway just before the 10-minute mark of the period. Later, Forsling lent Bobrovsky a hand with likely a goal-saving block on the penalty kill.

Ushering in the usual chorus of “Bob-by!” chants in the second period, Bobrovsky kept the Rangers off the board on the power play with back-to-back saves, a stalwart series of events that ended with the veteran stacking the pads to stop Filip Chytil on a rebound.

“Rangers are a good team,” Bobrovsky said. “They have good, skilled forwards and always bring a fun challenge. It was no different tonight. They made some good plays. It was fun.”

Getting another look later, Chytil scored to cut New York’s deficit to 2-1 at 14:25.

With momentum now on their side, the Rangers evened the score when Ryan Lindgren went to the slot and re-directed in a pass from the point to make it 2-2 at 16:17.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, the newfound tie would be very short-lived.

Putting the Panthers back on top, Jesper Boqvist took advantage of some chaos around the crease and lifted a shot over a sprawling Igor Shesterkin into the net to make it 3-2 at 16:55.

On the power play early in the third period, the Rangers got the game deadlocked once again when Chris Kreider beat Bobrovsky with a quick one-timer to make it 3-3 at 5:18.

With the Rangers earning another power play not long after Kreider’s equalizer, Bobrovsky came up in the clutch again with a pair of huge saves on two wicked shots for New York.

Playing the role of hero for the Panthers, Boqvist crashed the net after a fantastic zone entry and powered a rebound across the goal line after a shot from his brother, Adam, to make it 4-3 at 11:38.

“Amazing,” Jesper said of teaming up with his brother for a goal. “A dream come true again. We’re living the dream here. We’re having a lot of fun. Super thankful to be here.”

Moments after killing off a late power play for the Rangers, the Panthers locked in their win when Aleksander Barkov scored an empty-net goal to make it 5-3 with 36.5 seconds left.

Standing tall from start to finish, Bobrovsky made 12 of his 33 saves in the third period to improve to 8-2-0 in his last 10 starts.

“I thought Bob was great,” Maurice said. “Sergei made three or four incredible saves, or we’re having a different conversation. You can’t lose sight of that."

THEY SAID IT

“Sergei was outstanding tonight. He’s been very, very good. I think his last nine or 10 starts he’s fantastic for us.” – Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance

“We never gave up. We wanted the next goal, and we got it this time. We did a great job. Happy for the win.” – Eetu Luostarinen on picking up the win

“Probably the best player. Huge. The wall back there, right? He was awesome.” – Jesper Boqvist on Sergei Bobrovsky’s performance

CATS STATS

- The Panthers scored in the opening five minutes for the 12^th time this season.

- Jesper Boqvist recorded his first multi-goal game as Panther.

- Aleksander Barkov went 12-for-19 (63.2%) in the face-off circle.

- Uvis Balinskis recorded two assists.

- Gustav Forsling blocked a team-high five shots.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made seven high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT’S NEXT?

There won’t be another game until next year!

Cue the groans.

Opening up the 2025 portion of the season, the Panthers will kick off a back-to-back with a battle against the Carolina Hurricanes at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.