Panthers beat Rangers in Eastern Conference Finals rematch
NEW YORK — Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for his 400th career win, and the Florida Panthers defeated the New York Rangers 3-1 on Thursday.
Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe scored early first-period goals for Florida. Lundell opened the scoring 44 seconds in, beating Igor Shesterkin alone in the slot. Verhaeghe added to the Panthers' lead at the 2:42 mark.
Alexis Lafreniere scored 4:44 into the game to halve Florida's early lead, but it was the only time New York was able to beat Bobrovsky.
Sam Bennett gave Florida a two-goal lead 6:59 into the second period.
From there, Florida held on to win in a rematch of last spring's Eastern Conference Final, which the Panthers won in six games.
Shesterkin finished with 26 saves for the Rangers.
Takeaways
New York: The Rangers lost in regulation for the first time after a 5-0-1 start.
Florida: The Panthers improved to 3-2-0 on the road after finishing with an Eastern Conference-best 26-10-5 away record last season.
Key moment
Bobrovsky denied Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski on a breakaway at 5:47 of the first, then made a pad save on Filip Chytil at 6:35. He also stopped Chris Kreider from in close at 15:20 of the opening period.
Key stats
Bobrovsky became the 14th goaltender in NHL history to reach the 400-win milestone. The 36-year-old netminder, in his sixth season with the Panthers, has a career record of 400-226-56 in 15 seasons. He also played for Philadelphia and Columbus. Bobrovsky is second in wins among active goalies behind Minnesota's Marc-Andre Fleury.
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, who leads the team with 13 points including six goals, was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season.
Up next
The Rangers host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, while the Panthers will remain in New York to play the Islanders on Saturday.