All it took was a bad bounce to decide a good game. At least for the Rangers, they came up short due to a loose puck that went off of Barclay Goodrow right to Carter Verhaeghe, who scored the game-winner with 6:23 left in regulation to give the Panthers a 4-3 win on Friday night.

It was an exciting game played between two of the leading contenders in the Eastern Conference. It probably was more wide open than either coach would’ve preferred. But there was plenty of skating, speed, transition, and some edge.

Despite the teams combining for seven goals and 66 shots, the goaltending was good on both ends. Jonathan Quick got the start for the Rangers. Although he wound up on the wrong side, he was excellent against the very skilled Panthers. Quick made a highlight reel save in the early going that was phenomenal.

Quick made an acrobatic reverse scorpion save to rob Eetu Luostarinen of a goal. It was another example of the 37-year-old American not giving up on a play. For the game, he finished with 28 saves on 32 shots.

On the other side, former Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky was on top of his game for the Panthers. Sharp from the outset, he stopped all 10 shots from the Rangers in the first period. Bobrovsky turned aside 31 of 34 for the game. That included Bobrovsky getting over to deny Alexis Lafreniere on a one-timer off an Artemi Panarin feed. It wasn’t the only close call for Lafreniere.

Rodrigues Gives Panthers the Lead

Late in the first period with the game still scoreless, the Panthers applied some pressure in the Rangers’ zone. Following a good Quick stop on Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers kept the puck in.

Niko Mikkola moved the puck down to Barkov, who slid it over to Evan Rodrigues. He then beat Braden Schneider and caught Quick by surprise by beating him on the short side with 75 seconds left in the period. Rodrigues gave the Panthers the lead.

Rangers Start the Second Strong

Trailing by one, the Rangers started the second period strong. Dictating play, they got the first six shots of the period.

Bobrovsky made a couple of good saves, including on a tricky deflection by Nick Bonino. He also stopped Jimmy Vesey and Panarin. That allowed the Panthers enough time to get going.

On a dominant shift by Barkov, he controlled the play in the Rangers’ zone. Shortly after Quick stopped him, Barkov spun off a check behind the net and set up Sam Reinhart to put the Panthers ahead 2-0 with 12:18 remaining in the second. Reinhart found just enough room to beat K’Andre Miller for the tap in.

Panarin and Cuylle Tie It

Following a couple of key stops from Quick to keep the deficit at two, the Rangers finally found some offense. Earlier in the period, Panarin had Lafreniere in front, but he hit the crossbar. This time, a great keep in by Ryan Lindgren led directly to Lafreniere, setting up Panarin for his team-leading 20th goal to cut it to 2-1.

The Panthers nearly went back up by two. However, Quick made a big save on Sam Bennett moments after Panarin’s goal. That allowed the Rangers to draw even. Will Cuylle scored his seventh of the season to tie it. The goal came 1:13 after Panarin had cut it to one.

A takeaway by Miller in the neutral zone allowed him to start a quick transition with Cuylle. He passed the puck up for Cuylle, who made no mistake by beating Bobrovsky top shelf with 5:24 left in the period.

After a Panthers’ turnover, Vesey came in on a breakaway. But Bobrovsky stopped him to keep the game knotted. That was a critical save in the game. It stopped the Rangers’ momentum.

Schneider Penalty Hurts

With over four minutes left in the period, Schneider was sent off for interference on Barkov. His penalty hurt. Ultimately, it led to the Panthers surging back ahead on the power play.

Moments after Lindgren made a good block to deny Reinhart in the slot, the red hot Reinhart parked himself in front and tipped in a Barkov shot for his 23rd goal to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead with 2:53 remaining in the period. It was his second of the game.

The Rangers created a couple of scoring chances late in the second. But Bobrovsky made good stops on both Lafreniere and Panarin to keep the Panthers in front.

With 10 seconds left, Quick made a tough stop on a tricky deflection from Matthew Tkachuk. Tkachuk hasn’t been the same player this season. He only has five goals. He’s still not fully recovered from a cracked sternum that he played with last postseason. It forced him out of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals when the Panthers lost to the Golden Knights on June 13, 2023.

Although he wasn’t as noticeable on Friday night, Tkachuk caught Blake Wheeler with a thunderous open ice hit during the game. It was the kind of clean check that could be appreciated. For once, there was no response to a good hit.

Laviolette Makes a Change

For most of the game, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider were quiet. They couldn’t establish anything at even strength. Being matched up against Barkov had a lot to do with it. He’s one of the game’s best two-way centers for a reason. His line stifled the Zibanejad line for two periods.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette decides to make a change for the third period. After initially keeping Wheeler on the first line for the opening shift of the third, Laviolette opted to double shift Panarin with Zibanejad and Kreider. Right away, it led to a good Zibanejad shot right on Bobrovsky. That was the first time he was noticeable.

On their next shift, Panarin got a chance that Bobrovsky stopped. The Panthers came in the opposite direction and nearly had a goal. But Carter Verhaeghe had his slap shot clank off the crossbar.

It was a rare night when Adam Fox hardly did anything. He tested Bobrovsky with a wrist shot that he swallowed up. Fox wasn’t on his game. There have been a few instances when he’s been a little off since returning from an upper-body injury he suffered on Nov. 2. He’s been back since Nov. 29. The point production has been there. He has 13 points (all assists) in 14 games.

Zibanejad’s Shorthanded Goal Ties It

Throughout the first part of the third, each team had opportunities to score. Both Quick and Bobrovsky continued to make saves. It was a diving block by Miller that prevented a sure Verhaeghe goal. Following some ragged play from the Rangers, he was wide open. But his one-timer was blocked by Miller, who was in the right spot.

With under nine minutes left in the third period, Lafreniere banged into Barkov, knocking him down. Originally, they called Lafreniere for a major penalty. But the replay showed that he inadvertently hit Barkov with his right shoulder into Barkov’s helmet.

The review took a while. Once they concluded the conference with Toronto, they correctly ruled that Lafreniere had a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head.

While there was much discussion coming from both Laviolette and Panthers coach Paul Maurice on the play, it really wasn’t debatable. Even if accidental, that’s a penalty. Fortunately, Barkov was okay to return after going to the locker room.

As fate had it, that’s when Zibanejad made an imprint on the game. On a good play by Kreider out of his end, he passed the puck over for a Zibanejad slap shot that beat Bobrovsky with 7:45 left. Zibanejad’s shorthanded goal tied it.

Verhaeghe Gets The Winner

Moments after a successful penalty kill, the Rangers didn’t get the puck out of their zone. Instead, a strong shift from Tkachuk allowed Verhaeghe to get the winner.

A make shift line of Bonino, Lafreniere, and Barclay Goodrow couldn’t escape trouble. The Panthers were effective on the forecheck for most of the game. It gave the Rangers problems.

On what was a broken play created by both Tkachuk, Gustav Forsling had his shot bank off of Goodrow right into the slot. That allowed Verhaeghe to retrieve the puck, turn, and fire a seeing eye shot that beat Quick to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead with 6:23 left in regulation.

Afterward, the Panthers completely shut down the neutral zone. With the exception of one mistake that gave Vincent Trocheck a great opportunity to tie the score with over two minutes left, they limited the Rangers to one shot over the final seven minutes.

A takeaway by Erik Gustafsson created the missed chance by Trocheck. He came in on an odd man rush and had Trocheck open in the slot. But Trocheck missed the shot wide. It didn’t even come close. If there’s one thing that’s frustrating about him, it’s his penchant for firing blanks that miss the mark. He’s been one of the Rangers’ best players this season, ranking near the top of the league in faceoffs. But sometimes, Trocheck can’t hit the net. If he had, there would’ve been overtime.

That blown opportunity essentially ended the game. The Panthers did a great job blanketing the Rangers. They couldn’t even get anything set up. It was similar to a power play they had earlier in the contest. The Panthers took everything away by standing up at the blue line and being aggressive.

Compared with the Bruins and Maple Leafs, the Panthers play a heavier style that’s made for the playoffs. They can score and have the goaltending to compete seriously. It’s possible that the Rangers might see the Panthers in late May. There are two more regular season meetings. If they’re anything like Dec. 29, it’ll be worth watching.

Rangers visit Lightning

The Rangers will visit the Lightning to conclude the year later tonight. That means having to deal with the league’s leading scorer, Nikita Kucherov. He’s been on fire this season. He has 24 goals and 34 assists for 58 points in 35 games.

Without him and Brayden Point, the Lightning would be sunk. They aren’t good defensively. Most of the key players are minuses. However, they’ve played better lately. The return of Andrei Vasilevskiy has something to do with it. He’s one of the game’s best goalies for a reason. When the Rangers hit the ice, it’ll be an all Russian matchup between Igor Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy.

Hopefully, it delivers. All the Rangers want to do is get a win so they can celebrate New Year’s Eve tomorrow night.