NEW YORK – The Florida Panthers don’t know how to take their foot off the gas.
Need proof?
Look no further than the final minutes of their 3-0 win against the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
With the game out of reach for the Rangers following an empty-net goal from Sam Bennett with 1:19 left, the Panthers kept giving 100% until the final horn with a few huge blocks and hits.
The game might’ve been essentially over, but their style of game never ends.
“We take one moment at a time,” goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. “Everybody keeps grinding and chipping away. Execute the system. Everyone delivered. In the last minute when the game was decided, they’re still throwing their body in the shot lanes. It’s special.”
With 1:04 left, Ryan Lomberg put his body on the line to block a shot from K’Andre Miller.
"That's kind of how we roll,” Lomberg said of the team’s strong finish. “We play as hard as we can until there's no more time on the clock. Then we take our recovery, go out and do it again. It was great to see all the boys selling out toward the end of the game. We want it so bad."
Helping keep Bobrovsky’s second-career playoff shutout intact, Niko Mikkola made a big hit along the wall with four seconds left to keep the Rangers from firing a final shot on net.
“I was just trying to get the shutout for Bob,” Mikkola said.
Over the 1:19 after Bennett’s goal, the Panthers didn’t allow a single shot on goal.
With each hit and block, Florida’s bench went wild.
“What I like is that they celebrate each other, the good things,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s not just the top-end scorers. It’s the guys who don’t get necessarily the ice time that the other players do. They celebrate it on the bench, the hard things. It’s important.”
While their push to play until the whistle has become a hallmark of their approach to each and every game, the ability to not play beyond it has also been noticeable lately.
Despite their reputation, the Panthers pride themselves on discipline these days.
After taking just two penalties in Game 1 against the Rangers, they're averaging just 2.57 minor penalties per game since the second round of the playoffs began. During that seven-game stretch, their 18 minor penalties are the second-fewest in the NHL.
Determination and discipline?
Sounds like a recipe for success.
With a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Final, the Panthers will look for more of the same against the Rangers in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
For watch party information, visit FloridaPanthers.com/CatsOnTap.
