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3 things the Florida Panthers did wrong in their Game 3 loss to the New York Rangers
The Florida Panthers were defeated 5-4 by the New York Rangers in overtime of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. After building a 1-0 lead, they fell behind 4-2 and rallied to force overtime 4-4 before Alex Wennberg sealed the win at 5:35.
Thanks to a 3-0 shutout in Game 1, Florida looked to have the Rangers on the ropes for the first time in the playoffs, only to drop consecutive games in overtime.
What happened in Game 3, and why are the Panthers trailing for just the second time in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs?
Three things the Florida Panthers did wrong in their Game 3 loss
#1. High shot volume, inability to finish
Florida fired 37 or more shots for the fifth time this postseason and is now 3-2 in those contests. On Sunday afternoon, Igor Shesterkin had an answer for 33 of them, surrendering four goals in the victory.
Game 3 also marked the fifth time they scored at least four goals in a match but suffered their first defeat. Despite holding their opponents to only 23 shots, the Panthers lost for the first time by giving up less than 29 shots in a playoff game.
Florida may have scored four goals, but they couldn't get that critical fifth one to steal a comeback victory on home ice despite almost getting 40 shots on goal.
After beating up Jeremy Swayman (15 goals) in the second round, they are struggling to beat Shesterkin, so they are trailing 2-1 after three games.
#2. Bobrovsky continues with pedestrian save percentages
During the Panthers' march to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023, Sergei Bobrovsky was almost unbeatable with a .915 SV% and 2.78 GAA. At first glance, he's having a similar run in 2024 with a .912 SV% and 2.12 GAA, but those numbers don't tell the whole story.
Before the Stanley Cup Final in 2023, Bobrovsky had three games with a sub .900 SV%, running into trouble against the Vegas Golden Knights, finishing the series 1-4 with a .844 SV%.
He compiled an 8-3 record ahead of the 2024 Eastern Conference final but already had six games with a sub .900 SV%. The Panthers are among the best teams in suppressing shot volumes. However, when opponents get their chances, Bobrovsky isn't always making the key saves.
In Game 3, he finished the evening with a .783 SV% with just 18 saves on 23 shots, his lowest SV% number of the postseason. Florida needed him to be at his best, especially in the third round, but he wasn't on this day.
#3. Ineffective power play
The Panthers did score two power play goals in Game 3, finishing the night 2-for-6 on the man advantage. But, like Bobrovsky, that statistic doesn't tell the whole story.
Sam Reinhart opened the scoring with a power play goal in the first period and knotted the contest at 2-2 in the second period with another man-advantage goal. However, down 3-2 in the final minutes of the middle period, the Panthers were gifted a four-minute power play.
During their golden opportunity, they gave up a shorthanded goal, and instead of tying the game at 3-3, they trailed 4-2 and never gained any momentum from the extended power play.
In the end, Florida's inability to capitalize on four power play advantage opportunities, including a four-minute one, was one of the decisive factors in the game and one of the significant reasons it trails 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
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