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The New York Rangers lost Game 5 by a closer 3-2 scoreline and are now one game away from playoff elimination.
The Rangers battled throughout Game 5 but were outmatched by a tight-checking Florida Panthers club that didn’t quit.
The Panthers are one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row. As the NY Rangers play for their playoff lives, it’s worth looking at what went wrong for them in game 5.
Things that NY Rangers got wrong in Game 5
#1: The Panthers outplayed the Rangers
It was quite visible that the Panthers dominated the NY Rangers. The gap was especially noticeable in the third period. The Panthers took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Anton Lundell. The tally from the third line gave the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish.
The Panthers went up 3-1 on an empty-net goal by Sam Bennett. However, the Rangers made it close on a goal by Alexis Lafreniere, who redirected a shot from Mika Zibanejad.
The score was a lot closer than the game really was. The Panthers outshot the Ranger 37 to 27 while controlling the pace throughout the game.
#2: The Rangers’ offense didn’t get anything going
On the bright side, Zibanejad notched two assists for his first points of the series. However, the Rangers’ other big guns went quiet.
Artemi Panarin was mostly lost during the game. Adam Fox hasn’t generated much offense. Vincent Trocheck played well but couldn’t get anything going.
The most evident sign of a sputtering offense was the powerplay going 0 for 3.
Except for a Chris Kreider shorthanded goal, the offense didn’t contribute much today. As has been the trend in this series, the NY Rangers cannot depend on Igor Shesterkin to steal games for them. Game 5 is a classic example of how teams need to score in order to support an elite goaltender.
#3: The Rangers couldn’t get past the Panthers’ tight-checking style
The third period was a textbook example of how the Panthers can clamp down on a game, leaving little room for the opposition to get anything going.
The NY Rangers could not generate much in the third, leaving them with little room to maneuver. But perhaps the most prominent signal of the Panthers’ tight-checking style was the 12 giveaways they forced on the Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Panthers only turned over the puck once.
The Rangers need to find a way to bust through the Panthers’ defensive wall if they expect to win game 6. Florida has shown to be a top third-period team. That situation leaves the Rangers with little choice but to enter the third with the lead.
