SUNRISE, Fla. — Nothing came easy against the Panthers, but the Rangers proved they can try harder.
Every shift was tough for the Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals, and they struggled with every fight for the puck, but it was the visitors who won the crucial Game 3 despite blowing a two-goal lead in Game 3. Alex Wennberg deflected a Ryan Lindgren shot in overtime to secure a 5-4 victory and take a 2-1 series lead Sunday night.
“When you see the puck go in, it’s just an explosion of energy,” said Wennberg, whose goal was just his second since putting on a Blueshirt jersey on March 9, sending fans wearing blue badges jumping out of their seats. “It was just an explosion of all kinds of joy.”
The way the game feels makes sense when compared to how it actually plays out.
While most of the game may seem in the Panthers’ favor based on how they have played in the first three games of this series, there is something to be said about the Rangers’ composure and how they will combat that fact.
The Rangers were behind in nearly every statistical category in this game, losing 108-44 in attempts and 37-23 in shots in a tough 65 minutes, 35 seconds.
Their power play was thwarted again as they lose eight straight in the series.
And the way they collapsed in the final five minutes of regulation made it look like the Rangers did not deserve to win the game.
But when it comes to team spirit, the Rangers’ spirit is one of their strongest weapons. Very few things can faze this team, and that’s undoubtedly a factor in the Rangers’ 4-0 record in overtime games this season.
“In the playoffs, it’s really important to find ways to win,” said Vincent Trocheck, who got the lead assist on the first of Alexis Lafreniere’s two goals and Barclay Goodrow’s shorthanded score. “Whether it’s overtime or regulation, whether you’re up by two late in the game or down by two, it’s all the same. You just have to try to win.”
Even though the Rangers led 4-2 early in the third period, it never felt like the Panthers were losing — and they weren’t.
Florida made impressive plays on both sides of the puck, pulling within 4-3 on a goal by captain Aleksander Barkov just five minutes into the final frame, before Gustav Forsling found open space and fired a shot over the glove of Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin to the far side to tie the score at 4-4 with 13:02 left in the game.
The Panthers had plenty of time and chances to put the game away, especially when the Rangers found themselves trapped in their own half and had to ice the puck five times in the final two minutes to send the game into overtime.
But Shesterkin, who recorded 33 saves, made 12 in the final 20 minutes to lead his team to the victory.
Wennberg was the overtime hero this time, but Lafreniere and Goodloe led the Rangers’ offense in the extra period.
Lafreniere scored his second goal of the game at 15:23 in the middle of the half on a highlight-reel play: The Rangers forward slid down the left boards to the right of Dmitry Kulikov, tiptoed past a Panthers defenseman and backhanded the puck past Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky for a 3-2 lead.
It was Lafreniere’s second two-pointer this postseason, as the 22-year-old continues to transform into the No. 1 draft pick everyone expected.
Not only did Goodloe give the Rangers a 2-1 lead 25 seconds after Lafreniere had tied it in the first period, but the utility forward also recorded his team’s fifth shortened goal of the playoffs to put the lead at 4-2 late in the middle period.
On a four-minute power play for the Panthers that came from consecutive penalties by Rangers captain Jacob Trouba, Goodrow scored with a one-touch shot off a pass from Trocheck with 1:44 left in the second period.
“He’s scoring a little bit more right now, but that’s been going on all year,” Trocheck said of Goodrow, who has four goals in his past four games and five in the playoffs this season. “You can count on him for the little things.” [for] Every night, I know what’s going to happen.”
