The Florida Panthers secured their second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final by defeating the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Having lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games last year, the Panthers will now face either the Edmonton Oilers or the Dallas Stars. Edmonton currently leads that series 3-2.
"Last year was our first time getting this far, and it was an amazing experience," said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. "We were determined to get back here. It’s a process that starts in the summer and continues through training camp. We all shared the goal of improving and returning to this stage. Now, here we are again."
Sam Bennett and Vladimir Tarasenko each scored, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves for the Panthers, the top seed from the Atlantic Division.
Artemi Panarin scored, and Igor Shesterkin made 32 saves for the Rangers, the top seed from the Metropolitan Division and the winners of the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best team during the regular season.
"It was tough to generate the quality scoring chances we wanted," said New York coach Peter Laviolette. "Florida's defense was strong, just like at the end of the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Our games this year were often low-scoring and close, and finding that extra goal was often the difference."
Bennett opened the scoring for Florida at 19:10 of the first period. Evan Rodrigues intercepted a clearing attempt by Erik Gustafsson, passed to Bennett, who then set up Rodrigues before receiving the puck back for a one-timer from the left circle.
"It was crucial because they have a lot of offensive talent," Bennett said. "[New York] is going to score some goals, but we did well to limit them and shut them down. It was a tremendous effort. Close-out games are always the hardest and show how dedicated this group is to winning."
Tarasenko increased the lead to 2-0 at 9:08 of the third period, finishing off a backdoor pass from Anton Lundell at the right post. The play began when Eetu Luostarinen stole the puck from Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller.
"It’s great, especially for the young guys, to gain this playoff experience," Tarasenko said. "Most of us were here last year. Hearing about it is one thing, experiencing it is another. It's helping us a lot."
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