The Panthers were a big test for the Rangers before the trade deadline, which they failed to do twice.
However, the Blueshirts ended up being the favorites to win the Presidents Trophy after making reinforcements at key points in the season.
Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin scored in the shootout as the Rangers rallied from an early two-goal deficit to win 4-3 against Florida and score their 97th and 98th points of the season. An enthusiastic crowd at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The situation was in the Rangers’ favor. Florida was without several regular skaters, including Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling, and suffered its third straight loss in this matchup.
The same can be said for the Panthers. The Panthers were playing a Rangers team without three of their most athletic players in Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren and Will Quill. Quill has responded admirably to head coach Peter Laviolette’s orders after three games without Trouba and Lindgren, who are both recovering from lower-body injuries.
