The Rangers lost a thriller against the Panthers 4-3. The Florida Panthers did it again making a comeback. They lead the league with comeback wins. Here is how it went down.
Goalies Igor Shesterkin and Sergei Bobrovsky came in after not playing in almost two weeks. Both teams may have been a bit rusty, but much can be said the way these two teams played. There was a lot of hitting, scrums, chirping and yapping going on as things intensified throughout the game. That is all expected when there has not been much hockey action lately.
Image Courtesy of Cal Friedman from therattrick.com
The scoring didn’t happen much in the first period though. The only player to score was Artemi Panarin at 11:08, scoring his 10th goal. Watching how this goal played out, Bobrovsky would want this one back. Panarin received a nice pass by Ryan Strome (16), passed the puck between his own legs and backhanded it underneath the Bobrovsky’s pads to score. Panarin didn’t get the full shot, but it was effective enough when it slid off his stick in passed the goalie to make it 1-0. Also assisting on the goal was Jacob Trouba (9).
The action started heating up in the second period with more hits, blocked shots and take-aways. The scoring this period started with the Panthers tying it at 5:09. After a missed attempt on Panarin’s part to get the puck from around the boards, the Panthers took away the puck. Gustav Forsling (14) shot the puck, which was saved by Shesterkin, until Anton Lundell (6) scored on the rebound.
The Rangers ended up taking the lead at 12:43 on a take-away from Panarin in their offensive zone. Panarin (25) passed it to Mika Zibanejad (8), who scored on a wrist shot. Also assisting was Libor Hajek (1), who got his first goal of the season.
For those hockey fans, especially Ranger and Panther fans, who missed seeing their teams play, the third period really made things interesting.
Again the Panthers ended up tying the game. This occurred at 5:56 by MacKenzie Weegar (1) who got his first goal of the season. This goal took place on a slap shot. Assists were given to Eetu Luostarinen (3) and Mason Marchment (7).
This is where the Panthers just go nuts. At10:31, the Panthers finally get their first lead and never give it up at this point. Carter Verhaeghe (8) scores, assisted by Radko Gudas (7) and Forsling (15).
At 14:40, Anthony Duclair (10) took the puck away and scored on a snap shot, assisted by Sam Bennett (6). This was the game-winning goal because at 19:15, Chris Kreider scored in front of the net. This goal was assisted by Kaapo Kakko (6) and Zibanejad (19).
The game between the Rangers and the Panthers was definitely a wild ride and worth the wait, although Ranger fans may disagree since they lost. This is the kind of hockey that fans want to see, one that is physical where both teams battle.
Are the Rangers going to learn from this loss and move on quickly? Or will this painful loss destroy them, starting an agonizing losing streak? With the Panthers’ losing streak ending, will this win be a new beginning for them? Is there anything that can be improved upon after this game? Watch the Panthers on Thursday as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Also check out the Rangers on Friday as they take on the Lightning as well.
Featured Image Courtesy of usatoday.com
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