Panthers Sam Bennett and Niko Mikkola speak from New York on May 23. We’ve got ourselves a series. Another tightly contested Eastern Conference Finals game between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers went down on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. This time it was the Rangers coming out on top thanks to an overtime winner by Barclay Goodrow. It didn’t take long for the Rangers to open the scoring all the way back in the first period, and it came on a play in which a couple of Panthers ended up on the ice. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg] With the Rangers entering Florida’s zone about four minutes into the game, Alexis Lafreniere checked Carter Verhaeghe between the circles at the same time that Vincent Trocheck caught Gus Forsling in the face with his stick, but it was on the follow through of a pass. Trocheck then went immediately to the back post, with Forsling down and clutching his face, and tapped a pass from Adam Fox into a yawning cage. The temperature remained high throughout the opening twenty minutes. Dmitry Kulikov delivered a crushing body check to Alex Wennberg as he exited the Rangers zone, and while the hit was initially reviewed as a five minute major, officials deemed it a two minute minor for interference. After killing off the penalty, Florida put together a couple strong shifts and earned a power play of their own. Not long after the Panthers second power play unit came on the ice, Anton Lundell kept the puck moving along the boards, with Sam Bennett quickly finding Carter Verhaeghe at the center of the blue line with no Rangers within 20 feet of him. Verhaeghe took a few strides until he was between the circles, made a quick deke around Wennberg’s block attempt and snapped a quick wrist shot through a maze of bodies and past Igor Shesterkin to tie the game with 1:51 left in the period. A scoreless second period did not lack for action and excitement, with big hits laid out by Ryan Lomberg and Matthew Tkachuk, and then in the third period Kulikov put massive Rangers forward Matt Rempe on his backside with a hard hit behind the Panthers net. Each team had solid chances during the overtime session, with each team logging five shots on goal through the first 14 minutes. The next shot by Goodrow would be the one that ended the game, beating Sergei Bobrovsky blocker side after a pass from Vincent Trocheck. Here are some thoughts and observations from Game 2 in New York: Florida's 12-game playoff overtime winning streak was snapped with the loss. Verhaeghe now has two goals and four points over his past three games. Florida went a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and 1-for-2 on the power play. With an assist on Verhaeghe’s goal, Lundell is up to 10 points in 13 playoff games. Sam Bennett also logged an assist and now has six points in seven games during the postseason. LATEST STORIES FROM THE HOCKEY NEWS - FLORIDA The Hockey Show: Talking conference finals, hockey history with Stan Fischler [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/the-hockey-show-talking-conference-finals-hockey-history-with-stan-fischler] Happy Anniversary to Matthew Tkachuk sending Florida to the Stanley Cup Final [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/latest-news/happy-anniversary-to-matthew-tkachuk-sending-florida-to-the-stanley-cup-final] Ryan Lomberg received a big compliment from Paul Maurice after Game 1 against New York [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/ryan-lomberg-received-a-big-compliment-from-paul-maurice-after-game-1-against-new-york] Panthers expect strong response from Rangers in Game 2 of Eastern Conference Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/game-day/panthers-expect-strong-response-from-rangers-in-game-2-of-eastern-conference-finals] Matthew Tkachuk takes clutch to another level during conference finals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/players/matthew-tkachuk-takes-clutch-to-another-level-during-conference-finals] Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxNjQxMjA5NjI4NzMxMDIz/unnamed.jpg]
