In the end, Jonathan Quick knew it was the right time. The proud 40-year-old goalie revealed to teammates and the media that yesterday was the final game of his career.

He didn’t want it to be a big deal. In an era where many star athletes have a retirement tour, that wasn’t in Quick’s nature. A throwback player who became the all-time winningest netminder in American history, he kept things low-key throughout the season.

A well-respected player who’s always worn his emotions on his sleeves, Quick even went after the Red Wings in a memorable conclusion to a home game. When all the players got together at center ice, it highlighted the unique contrast with both Original Six teams wearing their colored jerseys.

The passion Quick showed following that November loss was something the Rangers needed more of in the first half of a challenging centennial anniversary season. It took them a while to become a harder team for opponents to play against.  Once they did, there finally was more of an identity that head coach Mike Sullivan had been looking for.

Despite putting forth a strong effort to come back and tie the score, the Rangers couldn’t find the third goal in a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Panthers on Monday night. They pushed hard in the third period to try to get Quick the win. However, Panthers backup Daniil Tarasov didn’t cooperate by stopping all 14 shots in a lopsided period.

Ultimately, it was the JV Panthers who found the game-winner with less than two minutes left in regulation. Cole Reinhardt scored his second of the game on just the Panthers’ third shot of the period to spoil Quick’s final NHL start.

“It’s in the back of your head throughout it, but you’re just trying to just enjoy it. Team played great. I wish I had a couple more saves for them. Unfortunately how it finished up. They deserved to win. I didn’t have as many as I liked to tonight, but it was still special. To see the way these guys played. Just, it’s an honor to play my last game with this group here,” Quick told reporters on how he felt.

How popular was Quick in his three years with the Blueshirts? Vincent Trocheck had some high praise on the future Hall of Famer.

“He’s as good a teammate as you can find. I’ve been thinking about it for a little bit now, after finding out that this was going to be his last year. Like things that I could say. There’s an infinite amount of positive things you can say about him. When you have a career as long as his, you come across hundreds of different teammates. Before being lucky enough to play with him a few years ago, you talk to guys that he plays with or played with and every single one of them says the same thing. He’s the best teammates. Unbelievable guy. Always trying to set things up to bring the guys together. He is the definition of a glue guy. He is a Hall of Famer. Three Cups. He was the starter in LA for years and he comes here and he’s the backup to Shesty and it doesn’t change a thing. He’s still the greatest guy.”

The 2012 Conn Smythe winner who backstopped the Kings to two Stanley Cups over three years, which included a hard fought five-game triumph over Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers in 2014, Quick loved the tribute he received from teammates who all wore his number 32 in warm-ups

Despite the Panthers sitting out most of their starters due to injuries, they took advantage of a couple of Rangers’ miscues to build a two-goal lead.

On a quick play in transition started by Vinnie Hinostroza, Tobias Bjornfot put a low shot on Quick that Reinhardt rebounded home. He beat Adam Sykora to the puck to open the scoring.

Less than two minutes later, Braden Schneider had his shot blocked. That led directly to Mackie Samoskevich, taking advantage of the turnover to cruise in and beat Quick upstairs on a breakaway.

Defensively, the Rangers struggled against the Panthers, who could’ve had more if not for Quick.

With under five minutes to go, Matthew Robertson cut the deficit in half by beating Tarasov from distance with a wrist shot. Noah Laba picked up the only assist on Robertson’s sixth. For a player who was all but forgotten entering the season, Robertson is a pleasant surprise with 18 points and a minus-3 rating in 71 games as a rookie.

The second period was as expected. It featured mostly low event hockey without many scrums. For the most part, the Rangers controlled the play at even strength. The number one line spent plenty of shifts in the Panthers zone. Eventually, it was a play in transition that resulted in Gabe Perreault tying the game with less than three minutes remaining.

Alexis Lafreniere found an open Adam Fox at the point for a shot that went off Tarasov and was deflected in by Perreault for his 11th. The secondary assist gave Lafreniere 56 points on the season. He needs one more point to match his career-high of 57 set in 2023-24. We’ll see if he can finish with a bang when the Rangers visit Tampa Bay tomorrow.

Despite severely outplaying the Panthers in a third that saw them hold a 14-3 edge in shots, they couldn’t beat Tarasov, who made some key saves to keep the game tied.

Fox came close to giving the Rangers the lead on the power play by having his shot hit the goalpost. It was that kind of night.

With it looking like the game would need overtime to decide, the Panthers finally mustered some offense to surge back ahead. After Quick made a tough stop on Donovan Sebrango, the Panthers kept the play alive. Eventually, that led to Luke Kunin setting up Reinhardt for the deciding goal with 1:50 left.

The Rangers were unable to get it tied with the extra attacker.

Following the game, Quick was selected as the game’s third star. After going to the locker room, the Panthers called Quick back out to congratulate him on a brilliant career. It included a nice meeting with Sergei Bobrovsky, along with all of the injured Panthers coming out on the ice to send their best to him. It was a cool moment that makes hockey such a great sport.

It was a well-deserved send-off for Quick. The last of the great goalies who were born in the 1980s. He joins Marc-Andre Fleury, Roberto Luongo, Carey Price, and Henrik Lundqvist on the sidelines. One day soon, Quick will have his day in Toronto. So will Fleury, who retired last year. Price should join them.

It was a pleasure to watch Quick play the net. He had an unorthodox way of making saves, which made for an exciting style. He finishes his career with 410 victories and 65 shutouts. Like those before him, he’ll be missed.