Rick Nash scored 2:01 into overtime for his third goal of the game, lifting the NY Rangers to a 5-4 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. Rick Nash was finally found in front of Panthers’ goalie Roberto Loungo at 11:08.
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Center Aleksander Barkov notched a goal Thursday in his second game back after missing 10 with a hand injury and was reunited with linemates Jaromir Jagr and Jonathan Huberdeau. Roberto Luongo has allowed 35 goals on 486 shots faced and Al Montoya has given up nine goals on 116 shots. The Rangers are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Florida and 6-0 in the last 6 meetings overall. Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal in the final seconds, sending the Bruins to consecutive home wins for the first time this season.
Stalberg stretched the lead to 4-2 when he beat Luongo from low in the right circle on the short side almost 2 minutes later.
Reilly Smith missed a penalty shot for Florida with 1:42 left when his shot went high.
“Even when we were down two goals, I thought we played a great game, ” Jagr said.
Viktor Stalberg scored 1:58 later as the visitors doubled their lead. “And the way we lost is extremely frustrating”.
Jokinen got just enough of a deflection on Brandon Pirri’s point shot, and sent the puck just over Lundqvist’s glove to make it a 2-2 game. Marc Staal also picked up an assist on the goal. “I was really proud of our guys tonight because we played one of the fastest teams in the league and we kept up with them and we probably pushed the pace more than they did tonight”, Gallant said. “We have to play smarter defensively, win puck battles”.
Luongo was far from ideal and wasn’t on the ice when Florida got its two late goals as Gallant pulled him from net for the extra skater. Added Jagr, whose 730 goals put him one behind Marcel Dionne for fourth all-time: “It’s the way we should play”.
NY broke a 2-2 tie in the third when Mats Zuccarello broke free and beat Luongo.
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Jussi Jokinen then did the dirty work on the boards before sending it to Pirri, who atoned for his first-period turnover with a slick cross-ice feed to Bjugstad just outside the crease for his seventh red-lighter of the season at 6:46. NOTES: NY scratched D Dylan McIlrath and RW Emerson Etem…. Hard to turn down NY and the reasonable price based on how hot they are. Keith Yandle is two games from reaching 600 and tops the blue line with 10 points for the Rangers while veteran offensive defenseman Dan Boyle, who started his career with the Panthers, has managed only three in 15 games. The game was the third of a five-game homestand for Florida, which hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Monday and the NY Islanders on Friday.
