The New York Rangers' two-game winning streak ended with a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
Trailing 2-0 with just over six minutes left in the second period, Artemi Panarin completed a maneuver set up by Alexis Lafrenière and Ryan Lindgren to initiate a comeback. It was the Rangers star's 20th goal of the season.
Then, just over a minute later, William Cuylle equalized on a two-on-one run despite Sergei Bobrovski's efforts.
The locals refused to let the game slip from their hands. Sam Reinhart deftly deflected a puck past Jonathan Quick before the end of the period.
The Big Apple team then tied the game again in the third period with the help of Mika Zibanejad, but Carter Verhaeghe scored the winning goal moments later.
After the game, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette highlighted his team's performance.
“I think it was a good game from our side once we got used to their pressure,” he said. We had several chances to score but didn’t take advantage of them.”
“We will rest and be ready tomorrow,” he added. I don't like the result, but the boys put up a good fight. We developed as the game went on.”
Despite the loss, the Rangers are still at the top of the Bettman Circuit standings with 49 points. The Vancouver Canucks have the same number of points, but the Western Canadian team has played two more games than New York.