Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal 1:12 into overtime, and the Florida Panthers topped the New York Rangers 3-2 to even the Eastern Conference Final at two games apiece. It was the third straight OT game in the series — and the first time Florida got a win in those matchups. Blake Wheeler, playing his first game for the Rangers since mid-February, was called for hooking Aleksander Barkov 59 seconds into the extra session. And it didn’t take long for the Panthers to cash in, with Barkov setting up Reinhart in front. Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida, which got 21 saves ..read more

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 23 shots for his first shutout of the postseason, Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 2-0 on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final. Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett also scored. Bobrovsky, who had six shutouts during the regular season, had the second of his career in the playoffs. Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves for Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers. They lost for the third time in four games after opening the postseason with seven straight victories. Game 2 is Friday night in New York ..read more

The Florida Panthers pounced on the power play, scoring twice on a Bruins double-minor — and four goals in all with a man advantage — to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Vladimir Tarasenko and Carter Verhaeghe scored 1 minute apart on the same power play, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 14 shots to lead the Panthers to a 6-2 victory over the Bruins on Friday night. It was Florida’s second straight six-goal game, helped by Mason Lohrei’s high stick that hit Panthers forward Steven Lorentz in the face and drew blood. “That was a huge opportunity for us. And we knew it ..read more

Aleksander Barkov had two goals and two assists, Sam Reinhart added four assists and the Florida Panthers beat the Boston Bruins 6-1 on Wednesday night to tie the second-round series at a game apiece. Brandon Montour had a goal and two assists, and Steven Lorentz, Gustav Forsling and Eetu Luostarinen also scored. The Panthers chased Bruins starter Jeremy Swayman early in the third period after four straight goals, then added two more against Linus Ullmark. Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 15 saves for the Panthers. The five-goal margin matched Florida’s biggest in a playoff game, tying the mark ..read more

Jeremy Swayman stopped 38 shots, Brandon Carlo scored a goal just a few hours after his wife gave birth to their son and the Boston Bruins topped the Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Monday night. Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Justin Brazeau and Jake DeBrusk also had goals for Boston, which improved to 5-0-0 against the Panthers this season. Pavel Zacha had a pair of assists for the Bruins, who scored three times in the final 7:08 of the second period to erase a 1-0 deficit and seize control. Matthew Tkachuk had the goal for Florida, which has rallied from a 1 ..read more

All players and coaches were at work on Wednesday at the Florida Panthers’ practice facility. Nobody was on the ice. That’s a nice problem to have right now. Florida will open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at home. That much is certain. The opponent — Boston or Toronto — won’t be decided until at least Thursday. And when Game 1 of the next series will happen is anybody’s guess. So, for now, the Panthers will rest up and wait. The current plan calls for them to skate on Thursday and Friday, then see what happens. “We have a sports science group, got a new facility, got lots of th ..read more

Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves, Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Brandon Montour, Sam Reinhart and Steven Lorentz also scored for the Panthers, who will seek a sweep Saturday night in Tampa. Tkachuk had a first-period goal and added an empty-netter with 32 seconds left. “We’re playing some good hockey right now, and we’re happy with where we’re at right now in the series,” Tkachuk said. “The fourth (win) is the hardest, everyone says that, so we have to come out absolut ..read more

Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky might have had the save of the year. The Panthers‘ goaltender was facing the other way when Tampa Bay’s Matt Dumba had a chance at what looked like it would be an easy goal in Game 2 of the teams’ NHL playoff series on Tuesday night. Dumba had nothing but net to shoot at — and Bobrovsky, without his stick and diving blindly at a puck he couldn’t see — somehow made the save. How it all developed: Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli skated down the slot with the puck and wound up sending it off the end boards, the rebound getting controlled by Lightning captain Steven Stamkos ..read more

Carter Verhaeghe tapped in a pinpoint pass from Aleksander Barkov for the lead 58 seconds into the third period, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and an assist and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 1 of their NHL playoff series opener Sunday. Barkov had two assists, Sam Reinhart also scored and Sergei Bobrovsky had 17 saves for the Panthers, who won a Game 1 on home ice for the first time since 1997. Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos got the goals for Tampa Bay, which now trails Florida in a series for the first time. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops for the Lightning, w ..read more

Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored 10 seconds apart midway through the second period, and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night. With the victory and Boston’s 3-1 loss to Ottawa, Florida clinched the Atlantic Division title. The Panthers (52-24-6) finished with the season with a four-game win streak to make up a five-point deficit in the standings. “It’s been a crazy year,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “I feel like, throughout the whole year, us and Boston were in the driver’s seat leading the divison and it’s kind of gone back and forth the last few ..read more