The Florida Panthers needed a win on home ice to tie the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece, and they got one thanks to the performance of their power play.
Throughout their playoff run, the New York Rangers have been the team stealing games thanks to their man advantage, but Florida gave them a taste of their own medicine to send the series back to New York tied 2-2.
In a 3-2 overtime win, Florida got two of its goals on the power play and some timely saves from Sergei Bobrovsky to finally turn the tide after two overtime losses.
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Panthers Bounce Back With OT Win
In Games 2 and 3, the Panthers have been demonstrably the better team in terms of puck possession, but Igor Shesterkin has soundly outplayed Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes, and that has allowed the Rangers to stay in games until they can take them as timely overtime winners.
In Game 2 it was Barclay Goodrow who proved to be the hero, and in Game 3 Alexander Wennberg scored his first goal of the playoffs to put the Rangers ahead 2-1 in the series.
The pressure was on for Florida on Tuesday night, as the Panthers could not afford to fall behind 3-1 in the series with a trip to New York on deck.
Vincent Trocheck got the scoring started for New York against his former team with a power play goal, and the Rangers were able to take that 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Shesterkin had a rare blunder in the second, though, allowing Sam Bennett to tie the game on a goal he'd like to have back. Less than four minutes later, Carter Verhaeghe struck for Florida's first power play goal with assists from Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov to take the lead after two.
Rising New York star Alexis Lafreniere tied the game with his seventh goal early in the third, as he continued his torrid pace in what has become a breakout postseason.
Neither team found the back of the net again in the third, but overtime ended quickly when Mika Zibanejad committed a brutal turnover in his own zone.
Barkov went on a break for Florida, and Blake Wheeler was forced to commit a stick infraction to keep him from scoring.
The Panthers went to work on the power play with decisive passing and deceptive movement, allowing Reinhart plenty of space in front. Barkov fed him in the slot from behind the net, and Reinhart's shot struck the pipe before going in behind Shesterkin to seal the deal.
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