Panthers 3, Rangers 2: Marcel Goc scored a tiebreaking power-play goal 7:37 into the third period and Jacob Markstrom turned aside 36 shots as NHL-worst Florida prevented visiting New York from securing a postseason berth.
Tomas Fleischmann had a goal and an assist and Drew Shore added an empty-net tally for the Panthers, who snapped both their six-game losing skid and the Rangers' three-game winning streak. Eighth-place New York would have gained entry into the playoffs with a victory after ninth-place Winnipeg dropped a 5-3 decision to Southeast Division-rival Washington on Tuesday.
Taylor Pyatt scored for the second straight game to draw the Rangers even after cleaning up a rebound at 2:35 of the third period. Florida responded just over five minutes later as Fleischmann's hard slap-pass from the edge of the right faceoff circle was redirected by Goc in the slot past Henrik Lundqvist (13 saves).
Shore gave Florida a 3-1 edge after he scored an empty-net goal from his own defensive end. Derick Brassard trimmed the deficit with 33 seconds remaining after tucking a loose puck past Markstrom.
The Swedish netminder held on to beat New York for the second time in his career. Markstrom stopped 44 of 45 shots in the Panthers' 3-1 win at Madison Square Garden on March 21.
GAME NOTEBOOK: After generating few offensive chances in the first period, Florida opened the scoring on just its third shot of the game at 5:04 of the second. Stationed in front of the net, Fleischmann deflected D Filip Kuba's wrist shot from above the left circle for his 10th goal. ... New York C Derek Stepan saw his four-game point streak come to an end. He recorded two goals and four assists during the stretch. ... A scoreless first ended the Rangers' streak of scoring in 11 straight periods.
NY Rangers | Florida | |
Derick Brassard 1 | Points | Tomas Fleischmann 2 |
Derick Brassard 1 | Goals | Tomas Fleischmann 1 |
Ryan Callahan 1 | Assists | Tomas Fleischmann 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Marcel Goc 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Drew Shore 1 |
Henrik Lundqvist .867 | Save Percentage | Jacob Markstrom .947 |
Henrik Lundqvist 13 | Saves | Jacob Markstrom 36 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Rangers | 38 | 2 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 9 | 30 |
Florida | 16 | 3 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 11 | 26 |