Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk, left, attempts to tip in a shot against New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during the first period of Game 4 during the Eastern Conference finals of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs, Tuesday, May 28, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
For the New York Rangers, their mission is simple: Win two of the next three games, and earn a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The trouble is, the mission is exactly the same as the Florida Panthers — who knotted up the Eastern Conference Finals series Tuesday night with a 3-2 overtime victory, setting up a pivotal Game 5 showdown at Madison Square Garden Thursday night that could make-or-break either club’s season.
Throughout the series, the Rangers — whose offense has been held in check by a relentless Panthers defense — have relied on goalie Igor Shesterkin to stand on his head, and he continued to deliver during Game 4. Shesterkin made 37 more saves Tuesday night, and even though he allowed the game-winner, his incredible effort was not lost on Rangers Head Coach Peter Laviolette.
“He was (dialed in),” Laviolette said, “especially in the second, there was a lot of heat there.”
But if the Rangers are going to win this series, their offense will need to become just as aggressive as their Panther counterparts and find a way to get past Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. His play has been almost equally excellent to Shesterkin’s throughout the series.
At the start of Game 4, it looked like the Rangers found a spark. They jumped out to a one-goal lead at 8:51 of the first when Vincent Trocheck fired a shot past Bobrovsky that ricocheted off the crossbar into the net.
It was the Rangers’ first power-play goal of the series after they’d gone 0 for 8 entering the game, and it reflected an energetic start that dissipated as the game went on.
Florida took the lead on goals from Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe in the…
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