The drama continues in this Eastern Conference Final. After a wild Game 4, the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers are locked at 2-2 in their best-of-seven series. The Rangers managed to reclaim home-ice advantage with an overtime win in Game 3, but Florida knew they couldn’t afford another loss. Despite outshooting and outchancing the Rangers in nearly every game, the Panthers have yet to lead the series. Game 4 started slowly, with the first real scoring chance coming at Sergei Bobrovsky’s net, but the goaltender handled it. At the five-minute mark, Florida defenseman Eric Gustafsson took a roughing penalty, forcing Igor Shesterkin to work hard. The Rangers killed it off and soon earned a power play of their own. New York had struggled on the man advantage throughout the series, but this time a crisp passing play from Fox, Panarin, and Trocheck resulted in a goal—Trocheck’s blast off the crossbar and in, leaving Bobrovsky helpless.
Late in the first period, the Panthers took another penalty. Mika Zibanejad came close to scoring on the power play, but the crossbar denied him. Overall, the Rangers played a strong first period and deservedly led. However, from the second period onward, including overtime, they faced relentless pressure—much like the end of Game 3. The shot total over that span was 29-10 in favor of Florida, and that dominance eventually showed on the scoreboard. Shesterkin made countless incredible saves, denying Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Aleksander Barkov, Vladimir Tarasenko, and multiple breakaways. But before all that, Sam Bennett tied the game. Shesterkin saved his initial shot, but Bennett followed the play and poked the puck in from behind the net. Florida’s second goal came on the power play (which has been clicking for them unlike their opponents), with Carter Verhaeghe batting the puck out of the air like a baseball player.
New York then got a power play of their own but managed only a shot off the post from Alexis Lafreniere. Still, Lafreniere would later tie the game in the third period. A sustained offensive zone possession saw Adam Fox make a brilliant play—dancing around a defender and finding Lafreniere for a one-timer into the net. For the third straight game, the teams headed to overtime, but this one didn’t last long. Blake Wheeler, back in the lineup after injury, was overeager and took a holding penalty on Barkov. Florida’s captain made him pay, finding Sam Reinhart with a pass, and Reinhart fired a laser into the top corner. Now the series shifts back to New York, and everything starts over.
Betting odds for Game 5:
New York Rangers win: from 2.57 (BetBoom, Liga Stavok) to 2.62 (Olimpbet)
Florida Panthers win: from 2.36 (BetBoom) to 2.47 (Betsiti)