Apr 14, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; New York Rangers right wing Gabe Perreault (94) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8e337e16-388f-497f-bbef-b8e163290d5c.jpeg] Apr 14, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; New York Rangers right wing Gabe Perreault (94) moves the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Seth Jones (3) during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images) The Florida Panthers final regular season game at Amerant Bank Arena did not go very well for the home team. Florida allowed a multi-goal lead to evaporate before eventually allowing the New York Rangers to score four straight and take down the Panthers 5-3. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to start the game off on the right paw. With Florida on an early power play, Sam Reinhart stepped into a one-timer from the high slot that went through the legs of Jonathan Quick to give the Cats a 1-0 lead at the 2:22 mark. An icing on the Panthers about six minutes later led to the Rangers tying the game. Right off the faceoff in Florida’s zone, a point shot by K’Andre Miller was stopped by Sergei Bobrovsky, but the puck trickled behind him and was poked in the net by an observant Matt Rempe. Early in the second period, a point shot by Gus Forsling was stopped by Quick, but the rebound bounced off the leg of Carter Verhaeghe and into the net, his 20th goal of the season. The Cats doubled their lead about 10 minutes later when a great play in the corner by Sasha Barkov led to another Reinhart one-timer from the slot. Just when it looked like the Panthers were in control, the Rangers reeled off a pair of quick goals less than two minutes apart late in the period to send the game into the third knotted at three. New York scored their third consecutive goal early in the third, and it came while shorthanded. Sam Bennett brought the puck back into Florida’s zone after the Cats had just cleared it on a Rangers entry, and suddenly New York had an odd-man advantage down low. J.T. Miller fed Vincent Trocheck and a quick one-timer later, New York had their first lead of the game. With Florida pushing for a late equalizer, Chris Krieder found the puck below the Panthers goal line and slickly fed Johnny Brodzinski in front to double New York’s lead with only 3:29 to go. On to Tampa. QUICK THOUGHTS The loss locked Florida into third place in the Atlantic Division. They will face either Toronto or Tampa in round one. Reinhart’s goals were his 38th and 39th of the season and his first in four games. Evan Rodrigues is riding a three-game point streak after logging an assist on Reinhart’s PPG. Verhaeghe has now scored in three straight games and he’s picked up at least a point in four straight. Barkov has a three-game point streak going after logging a pair of assists on Monday. He’s got 11 points over his past 10 outings. Another player with points in three straight is Seth Jones. He’s got a goal and five assists over his past nine games. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA 'He's not that far off': Paul Maurice provides update on Matthew Tkachuk as playoffs near [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/hes-not-that-far-off-paul-maurice-provides-update-on-matthew-tkachuk-as-playoffs-near] Final Panthers home game of regular season comes against underachieving Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/final-panthers-home-game-of-regular-season-comes-against-underachieving-rangers] Three takeaways: Strong nights for Gadjovich, Puljujarvi as Panthers win third straight [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/three-takeaways-strong-nights-for-gadjovich-puljujarvi-as-panthers-win-third-straight] Panthers power past Sabres with 3-2 shootout victory [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-power-past-sabres-with-3-2-shootout-victory] Searching for third straight win, Panthers host Sabres team playing best hockey of season [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/searching-for-third-straight-win-panthers-host-sabres-team-playing-best-hockey-of-season]
