Sam Reinhart’s power-play goal 1:12 into overtime gave the Florida Panthers a huge 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers and evened the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece with the teams heading back to Manhattan for Game 5.
The Panthers came out firing in the opening period, but fell behind at 8:51 when the Rangers cashed in after Anton Lundell took a ill-advised high-sticking penalty.
Florida was doing a good job of killing the penalty until Adam Fox passed to Artemi Panarin and he found Vincent Trocheck open in the high slot. The crafty Trocheck, who drifted from low to further out, blasted a shot down-and-in off the cross bar to give New York the lead.
Sergei Bobrovsky would get a piece of what like a sure goal for Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers’ next power-play chance later in the period. Fortunately, the puck struck his upper torso and then the cross bar and stayed out this time.
Florida would get on the board 8:45 into the middle frame when Sam Bennett took a pass from Gustav Forsling and sped up ice before putting a high wrister on Shesterkin. The puck dribbled off the keeper to the side of the net and Bennett was able to bank it off the blade of Shesterkin’s skate and just over the goal line. Bobrovsky collected the secondary assist on the play.
Carter Verhaeghe would give the Cats the lead 3:31 later, with a dazzling display of hand-eye coordination. After taking a return pass from Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk whipped a pass into the slot for Verhaeghe. The puck was blocked by the blade of Ryan Lindgren, ramped up and struck Verhaeghe in the body, then bounced off the back of Lindgren before Carter deftly swatted it out of the air and into the back of the net. The power-play goal came after Game 2 hero Barclay Goodrow was penalized for delay of game.
As they did in Game 3, Florida dominated the final twenty minutes of regulation, but couldn’t add to its lead and the Rangers would take advantage of unforced icing on Niko Mikkola to forge a tie at the 3:28 mark.
After the ensuing faceoff, the Panthers couldn’t clear the puck and the eventually Panarin crossed to Fox, who put a spin move on Steven Lorentz before saucering a back door pass to Alexis Lafrenière, who put the puck into the net off the back of Bobrovsky’s hockey pants.
Shesterkin would stop all 13 shots he faced in the third to get the game to a fourth period, but this time it would be the Panthers who came out top.
Barkov would burst past Zibanejad, forcing Blake Wheeler into corralling him as he broke in on Shesterkin, with the hooking minor giving the Panthers the key man-advantage.
After an offensive zone faceoff win, the Cats moved the puck crisply, with all five players touching the puck before Brandon Montour fed Barkov down low and he one-touched a pass into the slot to tee up Reinhart, who dropped to one knee as he blistered an unstoppable shot past Shesterkin to end it.
Game over, man! Game over!!! We go back to the Big Apple all knotted up after a big performance from the Panthers on home ice.