Igor Shesterkin played well for the New York Rangers, giving them a chance to win. Then, Alex Wennberg made a crucial play to become the hero.
With Wennberg deflecting the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky in overtime, the Rangers managed to withstand pressure from the Florida Panthers and secure a 5-4 victory. This win gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the series and shifted the home-ice advantage back to them.
Reflecting on his contribution, Wennberg emphasized the team’s unity, stating that everyone on the team fights for each other. Despite his relatively low scoring record since joining the Rangers, Wennberg’s goal was a collective effort.
The game-winning goal came from Ryan Lindgren’s shot from the left point, which Wennberg redirected into the net. This marked the Rangers’ second consecutive overtime victory in the series.
Shesterkin made 33 saves throughout the game, while Alexis Lafrenière scored two goals and Barclay Goodrow added two more for the Rangers. Goodrow’s playoff performance has been particularly impressive, with six goals in the playoffs compared to four in the regular season.
“He’s been a big help,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette.
Sam Reinhart scored two power-play goals, and Aleksander Barkov and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who will host Game 4 on Tuesday night. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for Florida, which has lost two games in a row for the first time in this playoff run.
“Sometimes you want to keep that energy,” said Panthers coach Paul Maurice. “In the playoffs, it’s about keeping the momentum going, but also knowing when to move on from mistakes.”
New York had a 4-2 lead going into the third period. The Rangers had a strong record this season when leading by two or more goals with 20 minutes left.
They extended that record to 27-0-1, but it wasn’t easy. Florida fought hard, especially in the third period, with Barkov and Forsling scoring goals within two minutes of each other to tie the game. The Panthers also caught a break when a penalty on Barkov was overturned after a review showed that Mika Zibanejad was hit with his own stick.
After that, the rest of the regular time was either dominated by the Panthers or Shesterkin, depending on how you look at it.
In the final 8 minutes and 10 seconds of the third period, the NHL recorded 24 shot attempts — all by the Panthers, as they relentlessly attacked Shesterkin. Out of those 24 attempts, only 6 were on target and needed to be saved. Nine were blocked, eight missed the net, and one hit the post.
None of these shots resulted in goals, leading the game to go into overtime. “We’re obviously not happy with the final outcome,” said Barkov.
The chaotic start of the game was probably forgotten by the end. It was quite different from the first two games at Madison Square Garden, where Bobrovsky and Shesterkin each conceded only two goals in 134 minutes of play.
But Sunday was different. The score was tied 2-2 after 15 minutes.
Reinhart scored first, followed by Lafrenière and Goodrow scoring 25 seconds apart — the fifth-fastest pair of goals in Rangers playoff history — giving New York a 2-1 lead. Reinhart later equalized the score in the first period with a similar goal to his first one, lifting a backhander past Shesterkin from close range.
Lafrenière and Goodrow scored again in the second period, and although Florida responded in the third, it was the Rangers who had the last say. Now, they are just two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014.
“We have that belief in this team,” said Wennberg. “Maybe we’re not the most vocal group, but we understand each other and what needs to be done.”
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