NEW YORK — Barclay Goodrow scored 14:01 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Friday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final.
Goodrow won it by putting a shot from near the right circle over the stick of Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky after getting a clean cross-ice pass from Vincent Trocheck.
The series, which resumes Sunday in Sunrise, Fla., is tied at one game apiece after Florida earned a 3-0 win Wednesday.
Trocheck scored New York’s first goal of the series early in the first period and Carter Verhaeghe scored the tying goal on a power play late in the first.
Bobrovsky made 28 saves.
New York’s Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 shots.
The Rangers started with significantly increased physicality and it eventually led to a 1-0 lead at 4:12 of the opening period.
Trocheck’s pass from the left boards was briefly intercepted by Verhaeghe in the slot. Verhaeghe lost the puck on a hard check by Alexis Lafreniere. Adam Fox gained possession at the right side of the crease and dished the puck to Trocheck at the left side for the tap-in into the vacated side of the net.
Florida saw its level of play improve toward the latter half of the period. Nearly a minute into Goodrow’s interference penalty, Verhaeghe cashed in.
The Panthers kept the puck alive and Verhaeghe’s shot from between the circles went past a screened Shesterkin and into the slightly vacated right side of the net.
Shesterkin kept the score tied during a span of 5:29 without a whistle by making a stick save on a partial breakaway by Brandon Montour with about 8 1/2 minutes left in the second period. Florida nearly went ahead with 2:48 left but Aleksander Barkov hit the post off a give-and-go.
Barkov nearly scored during a four-on-four but Shesterkin came out of the crease for the stop a little over a minute into the third. Sam Reinhart also nearly scored but his shot hit the side of the net with 10:13 left in the third. A little over two minutes later, Shesterkin denied a wrister by Ryan Lomberg.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media