New York Rangers plays host to Florida Panthers in their fourth and final meeting
The second game on Monday will be played at the Madison Square Garden as New York Rangers plays host to Florida Panthers.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams during the course of the season.
Out of the three games that have already taken place, Rangers won the first game 3-0.
However, Panthers bounced back with wins in the second and third games winning them, 3-0 and 4-3, respectively.
Panthers are out of the playoff’s contention and the game is more a matter of pride rather than anything else.
On the other hand, Rangers are still in the middle of a heated mid-table battle for the playoffs.
Panthers have been good if not excellent in their last six games out of which they have registered three wins in regulation time.
These wins have come over teams like Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers but the poor middle part of the season has hurt them a lot.
Rangers, on the other hand, have been doing good as they have managed to win six out of their last seven games and have come out strong to finish in one of the playoff spots.
Rangers were in a weak position when they were up against Pittsburgh Penguins where they were down 2-1 at the start of the third period.
However, they came across a power-play which saw them scoring goals every now and then and winning the game with a dominating score, 5-2.
"It's pretty easy to get down on ourselves [and] hang our heads after letting up a goal on the power play like that", said Ryan Callahan, who scored the winner at 5-on-4 just as Cooke's penalty expired. "But to our credit, we showed a lot of character coming
back and still working."
Rangers have played 73 games during the course of the season out of which they have won 39 games in regulation time and four games in overtime to score a total of 82 points.
Panthers have played 72 games out of which they have won 29 games in regulation and 10 games in overtime and scored a total of 68 points.
With the playoffs’ dreams all but over, Panthers are still coming up with some brilliant performances recently.
Their last game against Islanders saw Panthers leading 2-1 and in a good shape to win the game but in the end they lost the game, 5-4, after a shootout.
"Disappointing. You go in the third with a 2-1 lead, give up four shots, have a penalty shot in overtime with a chance to win it and end up losing the game", Panthers’ coach, Peter DeBoer, said. "I thought we deserved better, but you have to give the Islanders
credit. They're opportunistic."
The game will be entertaining and exciting with both teams looking to score some points as they look to move up the standings and pride on the same.
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