Kevin Shattenkirk’s second goal of the game 1:08 into overtime gave the New York Rangers a 5-4 win over the slumping Florida Panthers, spoiling the return of Roberto Luongo, Jared McCann, Colton Sceviour, and Connor Brickley.
After a rare period without scoring or giving up a goal, the Panthers jumped on top 3:11 into the second when Colton Sceviour tipped Micheal Haley’s backhand pass over Henrik Lundqvist. Derek MacKenzie drew the secondary assist for keeping the puck in the zone.
Nick Holden tied things up at the 7:54 mark, solving Luongo with a one-timer from the right side. The puck came to Holden after Haley blocked Ryan McDonagh’s shot on the opposite side. Jesper Fast was also awarded a helper on Holden’s first of the season.
Sceviour restored Florida’s lead 6:20 when he knocked a rebound between Lundqvist’s legs to cap off a furious spell of pressure. MacKenzie and Haley collected the helpers on Sceviour’s second of the evening.
Shattenkirk beat Luongo from long range through traffic with a wrister to even the score with 1:02 remaining in the stanza. J.T. Miller drew the lone assist for feeding Shattenkirk at the point.
Former Panther Michael Grabner showed off some silky moves to beat Luongo after Fast stole the puck from Brickley at the blue line and found him alone in front 5:18 into the final frame.
Former Ranger Keith Yandle forged a 3-3 tie 3:27 later when he knuckled a shot by Lundqvist after an offensive zone face-off win. Aleksander Barkov won the draw and Jamie McGinn got the puck back to Yandle.
A tripping penalty on Brickley allowed the Rangers to go a goal up at 11:25. McDonagh took a drop pass from Miller and drove a shot from the point that Rick Nash deflected into the net.
It look the Panthers would go down in regulation until a streaking Vincent Trocheck took Jonathan Huberdeau’s entry pass and snapped a shot off the cross bar and in with 1:56 left and Luongo off for an extra attacker.
The Rangers took the bonus point when Shattenkirk beat Luongo blocker-side after taking a pass from Nash on a 2-on-1 break. Miller picked up his third assist of the game with the secondary helper on the game-winner.
Overall, a better effort from the Panthers, who looked much more competitive with the missing half of its bottom-six back. However, a lot of the same problems persist. The Rangers piled up 43 shots in regulation time with 31 ones of those coming over the final forty minutes, and while Luongo was forced to make lots of saves (39), some of them of the Grade-A variety, the goal count for opposition ended being too high, once again. The Panthers ended their five-game homestand with a 1-2-2 record. They start a three-game road trip Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Full Highlights (courtesy of NHL.com)
Bull & Bears
- The Rangers swept their two-game trip in the state of Florida, and have won three in a row and five of seven after starting the season 1-5-2. New York is 10-1-2 in its last thirteen against the Cats.
- The Panthers allowed 20 goals in their past three games, matching their record for the most over a three-game span, first set back in January of 2003.
- Colton Sceviour returned to the lineup ready for action. In addition to his two goals, Sceviour led all skaters with six shots and registered two hits, a block and a takeaway.
- Henrik Lundqvist finished the game with 30 saves, raising his record to 5-4-2.
- Connor Brickley could probably get the goat horns for this one. Brickley was stripped of the puck by Jesper Fast, leading to Michael Grabner’s goal, and he was the guilty party in the sin bin for Rick Nash’s power-play marker. Tough third period, kid…
- J.T. Miller posted three points for the second time this season. Miller scored a goal and two assists against Pittsburgh on October 17.
- If you can make it there, check out Blueshirt Banter for the other side of Florida’s latest loss. /