It’s been a tightly-contested Eastern Conference final through two games in New York. Both games have had only three goals scored between the two teams and the Rangers tied up the series with an overtime win on Friday night.
Barclay Goodrow scored the game-winning goal with 5:59 left in the first overtime to send the series to Florida tied at 1-1. Goodrow, who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, has never scored an overtime goal in 572 career regular-season games.
WHAT. A. SHOT. pic.twitter.com/xoh6hsEoJS
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) May 25, 2024
Florida won 11 straight games that required overtime before losing on Friday night. That was the second-longest streak in NHL history behind the Montreal Canadiens, who won 14-straight overtime playoff games between 1993 and 1998.
Despite the tight Game 2, the Panthers are a decent favorite (-155) at home in Game 3 and remain favorites to win the Eastern Conference final.
Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Buy tickets to see your favorite team on StubHub.
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BuyNew York Rangers at Florida Panthers — Game 3
How to watch: 3 p.m. ET on ABC, SN, ESPN+
Series tied 1-1
Series odds: Panthers -155, Rangers +130
• Two of three conference final games played so far have required overtime with the Oilers beating the Stars in Game 1 and the Rangers beating the Panthers in Game 2.
• The first two games of this series have been a dog fight with the two teams averaging nearly 38 blocked shots per game in the first two games.
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• Vincent Trocheck, who the Panthers drafted, scored his seventh goal of the postseason to open the scoring on Friday night. He’s scored four of his seven goals against teams he used to play for in these playoffs. He also played for second-round opponent Carolina Hurricanes from 2019-2022 before landing with the Rangers last season.
• The only change the Rangers made after losing the first game 3-0 was to insert Matt Rempe into the lineup. New York is 15-2 with Rempe in the lineup. He quickly made an impact by checking Nick Cousins and Brandon Montour and smack-talking Aleksander Barvov. He’s clearly sets the tone for the team when he’s in the lineup.
• The Panthers penalty kill continues to be one of the best in the playoffs. The Rangers had four power plays in Game 2 and didn’t score a goal after the power play went 0-for-2 in Game 1.
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(Photo of Igor Shesterkin: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)