The Rangers ended a lengthy power-play drought early in Tuesday’s game, one of the few highlights from a brutal Game 4 loss in Sunrise, Florida, of the Eastern Conference finals.
Florida dominated the final 40 minutes, outscoring the Rangers 27-10 over the final two periods and winning 3-2 in overtime on a power-play goal by Sam Reinhart.
Rangers analyst Steve Valiquette could only describe the Panthers’ win as an absolute landslide victory.
“Overall, the Rangers started well in the first period.” “It was a tough decision,” Valiquette said on the MSG Network postgame show.“They were strong in five-on-five situations in the first period and they were strong on the power play.
“We took complete control in the second and third periods and then in overtime. [by] “These are the best players in Florida,” Valiquet said.
Vincent Troczek put the Blueshirts in the lead with a goal at 8:51 into the game, using a numerical advantage to score his eighth goal of the postseason.
The Rangers narrowly missed a 2-0 lead later in the period on a power-play goal by Mika Zibandged.
Still, a solid second period for the Panthers, including a goal from Sam Bennett and a man advantage from Carter Verhaeghe, set the tone for the rest of the night.
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If not for Alexis Lafreniere’s third-period wrist-shot goal, the Rangers wouldn’t have even had a chance at their fifth overtime win of the postseason.
“We may have made some adjustments between periods to slow them down, but I felt it was hard to pinpoint that,” Valiquette said. “It’s a hard truth to accept.”
The series moves to Game 5 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden with the Rangers looking to take a 3-2 series lead.
