Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJun 2, 2024, 01:06 AM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The New York Rangers didn’t see this end coming.
They were the Presidents’ Trophy winners on the strength of a 114-point regular season. They breezed by the Washington Capitals, and defeated the Carolina Hurricanes handily to reach an Easten Conference Final bout with the Florida Panthers.
But that’s where it all fell apart for the Rangers, who lost 2-1 in Game 6 of their series on Saturday night, eliminated from the postseason in the third round for the second time in three seasons.
“What we built as a team here, it just felt special this year,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “It felt like we had something in this room. It was a bond. (It’s) probably too soon to elaborate more.”
Trouba, in particular, came under fire for his performance on Saturday. New York’s rugged defenseman misread the play at his team’s blueline late in the first period, allowing Evan Rodrigues to feed Sam Bennett for Florida’s opening score.
That was Bennett fourth goal in the Conference Final, tying teammate Matthew Tkachuk’s franchise record for most markers in a conference final in Panthers’ history. His three-game goal streak also tied a Panthers playoff record.
Trouba’s slow reaction there contributed to the Rangers being in an early deficit they couldn’t climb out of. Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first goal of the conference final — against the veteran’s former team to boot — midway through the third period to give Florida a 2-0 lead.
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By the time Artemi Panarin notched his first of the series — with New York having already pulled goalie Igor Shesterkin — there was just 1:39 remaining on the clock. Too little, too late from one of the Rangers’ stars that had failed to come out when it mattered most.
It wasn’t just Panarin, though. Mika Zibanejad didn’t score once against Florida. He and Chris Kreider — who had one shorthanded…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40260732/new-york-rangers-special-season-comes-unexpected-end
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-06-02 06:13:49
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