Rangers vs. Panthers: 3 things to watch for when final week of disappointing season begins
It’s called playing out the string. And it’s something the New York Rangers haven’t had to do since 2020-21. But it’s what they will do twice this week before their miserable season comes to an end Thursday.
The Rangers (37-36-7) visit the Florida Panthers on Monday, their first game since being eliminated from playoff contention with a 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. It’s some bitter irony for the Rangers to be in this situation facing the Panthers, whom they battled in the Eastern Conference Final last spring. It’s been quite the fall for the Rangers, and seeing the Panthers is a reminder that roughly 10 months ago they were two wins away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
Instead, the Rangers can look up at the Panthers’ Stanley Cup championship banner at Amerant Bank Arena and play their first really meaningless game in four years.
The Panthers (47-29-4) are heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs ans still have something to play for Monday. Though third in the Atlantic Division, they still have a chance to finish second, which would give them home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It’s almost assured the Panthers will face-off with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
Florida’s won three in a row after a five-game skid (0-4-1). It hasn’t been easy playing without injured forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, nor suspended defenseman Aaron Ekblad, whose 20-game ban for using performance enhancing drugs carries into the first round of the postseason.
Bennett returns against the Rangers after he missed four games with an upper-body injury. Also back in the Florida lineup Monday is defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who’d been sidelined with an upper-body injury.
The Panthers are choosing to rest several regulars with the playoffs right around the corner. Though Sergei Bobrovsky will start in goal, Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Mackie Samoskoveich and Niko Mikkola won’t play against the Rangers.
The Rangers are trying to avoid being swept by the Panthers, who defeated them in six games in the conference final last spring. They lost 3-1 at home on Oct. 24 and 5-3 in South Florida on Dec. 30. That latest loss was the end of a brutal 4-15-0 stretch to close out 2024 for the Rangers, a massive setback they never fully recovered from.
Related: Mika Zibanejad’s late-season surge could impact his murky Rangers future one way or the other
3 things to watch for when Rangers visit Panthers
1. Long time coming
Matthew Robertson will make his NHL debut Monday, six years after the defenseman was selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2019 draft. The 24-year-old saw his prospect ranking plummet over four years playing with Hartford in the American Hockey League, but he did have career highs with 24 assists and 25 points this season.
The Rangers want to get a look at Robertson in NHL action before they decide whether to re-sign the restricted free agent, who has arbitration rights.
2. No. 800 for Vincent Trocheck
While Robertson plays his first NHL game, Vincent Trocheck is in line to play his 800th. The 31-year-old center hasn’t missed a game in three seasons with the Rangers (244 games). More than half of his games (420) were played with the Panthers, who selected Trocheck in the third round of the 2011 draft
Trocheck is finishing strong; he’s got five points (two goals, three assists) in the past three games. He’s second on the Rangers with 24 goals and fourth with 57 points. He leads all NHL players who’ve taken at least 1,000 face-offs this season with a win percentage of 59.6.
3. Last roadie
The Rangers play their final road game of the season, seeking their 20th victory away from Madison Square Garden. If they get it, that would be four straight seasons the Rangers won 20 or more road games, a franchise record.
New York is 19-17-4 on the road, which is better than their sub .500 mark at home (18-19-3) this season. Though they lost in Raleigh on Saturday, the Rangers are 4-3-1 in their past eight road contests. The Rangers have won six of their past 10 regular-season road games against the Panthers.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Brodzinski
Cuylle – J.T. Miller – Zibanejad
Kreider – Parssinen – Lafreniere
Berard – Carrick –Rempe
Soucy – Fox
Miller – Borgen
Robertson – Vaakanainen
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Rangers vs. Panthers: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers at Florida Panthers
When: Monday, April 14 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
How to watch: MSG
More About:New York Rangers News