The New York Rangers took the Florida Panthers’ best shot for the second game in a row and survived, somehow. Once again, an unlikely hero lifted them to an improbable victory.
Only 5:33 into the extra session, forward Alex Wennberg deflected in the game-winner, lifting the Rangers to their second consecutive OT win over the Panthers, 5-4, and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Wennberg, acquired from the Seattle Kraken ahead of the trade deadline in March, had notched only one goal over 21 games with the Rangers entering Sunday. However, much like Barclay Goodrow’s surprising emergence, he stepped up when it mattered most.
After blowing a two-goal lead and being thoroughly dominated for most of the third period and overtime, the Rangers escaped thanks to a timely goal and a herculean performance in net from Igor Shesterkin.
If not for their netminder, the Rangers would have probably lost Game 3 in regulation, perhaps by several goals. Instead, Shesterkin was the ultimate difference-maker on Saturday, weathering a storm of chances from the Panthers late, even while his offense went through shooting droughts of more than 10 minutes. He finished with 34 saves.
Most bizarrely, the Rangers are two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final with their top stars, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, giving them little to nothing. The trio went pointless in Game 3 and has combined for only one assist throughout the series.
With their top offensive threats quieted, Goodrow and Alexis Lafreniere teamed up to supply most of the offense for the Rangers. The pair scored first-period goals separated by 25 seconds before repeating the feat in the second, posting tallies only 3:01 apart, which gave New York a 4-2 advantage heading into the third.
The Rangers could easily be behind in the series 2-1. But despite being clearly worn down by the Panthers’ hard forechecking and sticky defense over the last two games, they’ve held firm and taken advantage of opportunities when presented — something Florida hasn’t done enough.
For the Panthers, it’s back to the drawing board. While they did need to come from behind to force overtime, they took it to the Rangers for most of the game, but couldn’t capitalize despite outshooting New York 37-23 and out-chancing them by a large margin. Once again, Sergei Bobrovsky provided a solid effort between the pipes, but after scoring only one goal in Game 2, four goals on Sunday weren’t enough to get a win.
At some point, considering how they’ve played, the belief is that the series will eventually tilt in the Panthers’ favor. However, time is running out. And after another improbable victory for the Rangers, destiny may be on their side.
The two teams will meet for Game 4 on Tuesday in Sunrise, Fla., at 8 p.m. ET.
