NY Rangers play out thriller at packed MSG beating Florida Panthers 3-2 in OT - NHL Update
The New York Rangers played out a thriller with the Florida Panthers winning, 3-2, in overtime at the renovated Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, to remain atop of the National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern conference, on Thursday night, January 5, 2012.
The Rangers also stand at the top spot of the Atlantic Division, with a 25-9-4 record and 54 points, overcoming a relatively poor start to the season to become one of the most in-form teams in the NHL.
Florida Panthers remain number one in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference with a 20-12-8 record and 48 points.
Panthers' goaltender, Scott Clemmensen, was in great form, standing tall to save 38 shots on goal by the New York Rangers' offence, but his efforts fell short as Marion Gaborik sealed the winner in overtime.
"We're disappointed even though this is a top team and we're playing in their building", Clemmensen said. "We're not satisfied with that. We want to beat everyone every night. This was a tough test for us".
Rangers’ goalie, Martin Biron, did not have to make as many saves as his counterpart, blocking 19 shots.
The Panthers took the lead in the first period as Marcel Goc scored his third goal of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season at 4:16 of the first period to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Rangers however, responded with determination, firing at Clemmensen as they searched for the equaliser.
Anton Stralman put the Rangers back on level by shooting the puck through the Panthers’ defence at 17:44 for his first goal of the season.
Both sides entered the second period probing for a breakthrough but the goaltenders stood strong and the period ended scoreless.
Rangers’ captain and star player, Ryan Callahan, stepped up when his team needed him the most, giving the Rangers a lead on the power play at 4:24 in the third period, with a brilliant move set up by Brad Richards, as the Madison Square Garden crowd raised the roof with deafening cheers.
The screams of excitement soon turned to moans just 36 seconds later as the Panthers equalised the score through Mike Santorelli at 2-2.
A shocked crowd of over 18,000 watched their team trudge off the rink to prepare for overtime but what they would witness would certainly lift the hanging faces.
Three minutes from the start of overtime, Rangers’ forward, Marion Gaborik, took a pass from Derek Stepan and smacked a shot towards goal beating Clemmensen.
Gaborik was mobbed by his teammates after scoring as the Madison Square Garden cheered as the Rangers won the game 3-2.
"It was one of those games that if you blink, you could lose it because it was such a tight-checking game", Rangers coach, John Tortorella, said. "They defended really well, but we found a way. It took us until overtime, but we found a way."
The Rangers have definitely turned themselves around in terms of performance, raising the level of excitement even more as the season progresses.
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