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Wennberg scores in OT, Rangers top Panthers to take lead in East final

Florida dropped back-to-back games for the first time in these playoffs
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New York Rangers center Barclay Goodrow, right rear, celebrates with teammates after he scored in the first period of Game 3 during the Eastern Conference finals of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Florida Panthers, Sunday, May 26, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Igor Shesterkin gave the New York Rangers a chance. Alex Wennberg got just enough of his stick on the puck to become the hero.

And just like that, the Rangers reclaimed home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference final.

past Sergei Bobrovsky 5:35 into overtime, as the Rangers survived an all-out barrage from the Florida Panthers in the final minutes before escaping with a 5-4 victory B次元官网网址 one that gave New York a 2-1 lead in the series.

B次元官网网址淭his is a team,B次元官网网址 said Wennberg, who had one goal in his first 31 games with the Rangers since being acquired in March from Seattle for draft picks. B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter whoB次元官网网址檚 the hero. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter who does it, we have everyone fighting for one another. Yeah, maybe I havenB次元官网网址檛 put up the same amount of points, but weB次元官网网址檙e a team. Everything we do we do together.B次元官网网址

Ryan Lindgren took a shot from the left point and Wennberg B次元官网网址 a former Panther, who was parked in front of the Florida net B次元官网网址 redirected it past Bobrovsky for New YorkB次元官网网址檚 second consecutive OT game-winner in the series.

Shesterkin made 33 stops, while Alexis Lafreni猫re scored two goals and Barclay Goodrow continued his surprising playoff barrage with two more scores for the Rangers. Goodrow has six goals in the playoffs, after four in the entire regular season.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 been a key contributor,B次元官网网址 Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.

Sam Reinhart had two power-play goals, while Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, whoB次元官网网址檒l play host to Game 4 on Tuesday night. Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for Florida, which has dropped back-to-back games for the first time in these playoffs.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes you want to keep the growl,B次元官网网址 Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. B次元官网网址淎 lot of times in the playoffs, itB次元官网网址檚 making sure that you keep that energy full, that you cut off your losses and let it go. Then thereB次元官网网址檚 times you want to keep it and eat it and let it burn for a while and find a different kind of energy source. B次元官网网址 Tonight, you should be a little growly.B次元官网网址

New York led 4-2 going into the third. The Rangers were 26-0-1 this season entering Sunday in games where they led by two or more goals with 20 minutes remaining.

They made it 27-0-1 B次元官网网址 but it took some serious doing, and survival of Florida throwing everything it could toward Shesterkin.

Barkov and Forsling scored less than two minutes apart in the third to erase that two-goal deficit, and Florida caught a break B次元官网网址 the right break B次元官网网址 with 7:34 left when Barkov was originally called for a high-stick that would have given the Rangers a 4-minute power play. But after review, it was determined that Mika Zibanejad was hit with his own stick and the Barkov penalty came off the board.

From there, the rest of regulation was, depending on perspective, either all Panthers or all Shesterkin.

Over the last 8:10 of the third, the NHL credited 24 shot attempts B次元官网网址 all of them by Florida, as the Panthers just unleashed a barrage on Shesterkin. Of the 24 shot tries, only six were on goal and needed to be saved; nine were blocked, eight missed and one hit the post.

None found the back of the net, and to overtime the teams went.

B次元官网网址淥bviously, weB次元官网网址檙e not happy with the end result,B次元官网网址 Barkov said.

Probably long forgotten by the finish was the wild start, a complete flip of how the first two games went at Madison Square Garden when Bobrovsky gave up two goals and Shesterkin gave up two goals B次元官网网址 not including an own goal and an empty-netter B次元官网网址 in 134 minutes of play.

Sunday was different. It was 2-2 after 15 minutes.

Reinhart opened the scoring, Lafreni猫re and Goodrow scored 25 seconds apart B次元官网网址 the fifth-fastest pair of goals in Rangers playoff history B次元官网网址 for a 2-1 New York lead. Reinhart tied it later in the first on a goal very similar to his first one, a backhander he lifted past Shesterkin from down low.

Lafreni猫re and Goodrow each tallied again in the second, Florida answered in the third. But it was the Rangers who struck last, and theyB次元官网网址檙e now just two wins away from their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2014.

B次元官网网址淭his team, we have that belief,B次元官网网址 Wennberg said. B次元官网网址淢aybe not the most vocal kind of thing, but we all look at each other and we know what to do.B次元官网网址

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