For a good 45 minutes, the Rangers and Panthers were showcasing what a possible Eastern Conference Final could look like. There was some really solid hockey being played by both teams, trading chances and converting on special teams. Sasha Barkov’s highlight reel assist was the capper on this, and then it all fell apart for the Rangers.
At 6:11 of the third period, a missed hooking call allowed the Panthers to go the other way and Ryan Lomberg floated a 55 foot muffin on Igor Shesterkin that he simply missed. Forget the missed hook, that goal at that point in the game simply cannot happen.
The Rangers seemed deflated after that goal, and the Panthers shut it down defensively. The Rangers didn’t get many high quality chances the rest of the game, with the only notable chances by Kaapo Kakko that went wide, and a nice but predictable Mika Zibanejad deflection that Sergei Bobrovsky read and stopped.
One story that shouldn’t have been was the officials. Florida is not a team of patron saints, yet Wes McCauley, perhaps one of the worst refs in the NHL, made them out to be. We know he is going to be erratic in his calls and the consistency throughout the game is not there. What’s a penalty in the first and second periods isn’t one in the third. This led directly to the Lomberg goal, even if most of that blame is on Shesterkin.
It would have been nice to take 1st place in the NHL with a victory, but that will have to come at a later time. The Rangers have essentially lost 3 of the last 4 games, and it does appear they are waiting for reinforcements. Saturday can’t come soon enough for a chance to get back in the win column. Enjoy the trade deadline folks.
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