The Presidents’ Trophy winning New York Rangers staved off a potential comeback from the
Hurricanes in round two and will now go toe-to-toe with the Atlantic Division winning Florida
Panthers. The squad from the “Sunshine State” overmatched the Bruins en route to a 4-2 series
victory. The Rangers are looking for their first Cup since 1994, while the Cats are still looking for
that first drink out of Lord Stanley’s Mug. This series has a bit of everything and should shape
out to be one of the more entertaining Conference Finals series in recent memory.
In Too Deep
Both the Rangers and the Panthers got to the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to their depth.
New York has five players with at least 10 points in these Stanley Cup playoffs so far and
Florida has three. Through two rounds, the Panthers have seen fourteen players score at least
one goal while the Rangers have had thirteen on their roster do the same.
Confidence in the Crease
Of the four teams left in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals just the Oilers have gone to their backup.
Both the Rangers and the Panthers have ridden their goaltenders to the precipice of the
promised land and aren’t expected to stop now. New York’s Igor Shesterkin is rocking a .923
save percentage which leads all goalies in the postseason. His counterpart and fellow
countryman Sergei Bobrovsky has just one more loss(3) than Shesterkin and has posted a 2.37
goals against average for the Panthers so far.
Goon Squad
Lets face it, both teams are riddled with “rats”. Florida has Matthew Tkachuk, who has put up 14
points through the first two rounds and is known as a player to get under the skin of the
opposition with his 17 PIM. They also have Nick Cousins who has produced just a single assist
through the eight games he’s gotten in but has accrued 20 mins in the box.
On the other side, it’s been the Rempire State, Matt Rempe, who is a lightning rod for attention
when on the ice. Known for his propensity to drop the gloves during the regular-season and his
bone crushing hits, Rempe is a classic fourth-liner who will do whatever it takes to get the upper
hand. Then there’s Rangers captain Jacob Trouba who takes runs at opposing players like it’s
going out of style. This year’s Mark Messier Leadership award winner will take the spotlight off
of star forwards when he’s on the ice as the Panthers will not want to be caught with their heads
down when the Trouba train is on the tracks.
Series Odds
Florida Panthers -150
New York Rangers +130
SEASON SERIES
Dec. 29, 2023 Rangers 3 Panthers 4
Mar. 4, 2024 Panthers 4 Rangers 2
Mar. 23, 2024 Panthers 3 Rangers 4
SERIES SCHEDULE
Game 1: Panthers vs. Rangers, Wednesday, May 22
Game 2: Panthers vs. Rangers, Friday, May 24
Game 3: Rangers vs. Panthers, Sunday, May 26
Game 4: Rangers vs. Panthers, Tuesday, May 28
Game 5: Panthers vs. Rangers, Thursday, May 30 *
Game 6: Rangers vs. Panthers, Saturday, June 1 *
Game 7: Panthers vs. Rangers, Monday, June 3 *