The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue with an exciting upcoming series between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers. The winner of this best-of-seven series will go on to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the winner of Dallas vs. Edmonton.
The Panthers are looking to make their second-straight Stanley Cup Finals as they travel to New York on Wednesday for the 8 P.M. puck drop. When asked about the possibility of playing in the Finals again, as well as playing in the exhilarating Madison Square Garden atmosphere, Panthers star-forward Matthew Tkachuk said, “It’s playoff hockey in New York. It’s a dream. MSG on the road is my favorite rink to play in just because of the history and everything that has to do with the city of New York. It’s a great city. They love their sports. It’s going to be such a great atmosphere. I mean, conference finals at MSG, that’s just so cool. We’re excited to start that on Wednesday.”
While the loud New York atmosphere may be intimidating to others, Panthers Coach Paul Maurice spoke on behalf of the team when he said, “Getting on the road is nice. I don’t feel any more comfortable going on the road. If you’re asking me, I take seven home games all day long, but our road game isn’t something that we fear.”
The last time the Panthers and Rangers met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it was the Eastern Conference Finals and the Rangers won in a five-game series. But that was 27 years ago, and the Florida Panthers are now piping hot after an immaculate game-winning goal by Gustav Forsling with just 1:33 left in the third period to seal the series against the Boston Bruins. As an NHL fan, you can expect this series to go more than five games.
Things to Watch Out For
Rangers:
The Rangers play a very fast-paced game, with none other than their star centers Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Zibanejad and Trocheck have been on a tear in this year’s playoffs, leading the Eastern Conference side of the bracket in points, each with their respective 14. Another large part of New York’s playoff domination is Igor Shesterkin’s masterclass goaltending. Shesterkin has been one of the best goalies in this year’s playoffs, going 8-2 and having a .923 save percentage. If he is the better goalie in this series, the Rangers will have a way better chance to win.
Panthers:
While Shesterkin is the better goalie, the Panthers will need Sergei Bobrovsky to out-goaltend him in order to come out on top. Bobrovsky has been good this postseason but good might not get the job done for Florida. He has allowed two goals or fewer in eight of 11 playoff games and leads the NHL with 24 playoff wins since 2022, which is three more than Shesterkin. Since the Rangers are the better team on paper, the Panthers will need a postseason breakout from one of their players and Sam Reinhart may be the answer. While Reinhart hasn’t been making much of an impact this postseason, he was exceptional with 57 goals in the regular season, which notched him a spot in the All-Star Game. Most of those goals came from the power play (27 when they had a man advantage and 5 when shorthanded). However, Reinhart only has one in his 11 playoff games so far which means he could be due for a series breakout.
Projected Lineups
Rangers:
Chris Kreider — Mika Zibanejad — Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere
Filip Chytil — Alex Wennberg — Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle — Barclay Goodrow — Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren — Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller — Jacob Trouba
Erik Gustafsson — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Panthers:
Vladimir Tarasenko — Aleksander Barkov — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Anton Lundell — Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen — Sam Bennett — Evan Rodrigues
Ryan Lomberg — Kevin Stenlund — Nick Cousins
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson — Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky