There are four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the New York Rangers are one of them.
After beating the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, the Rangers will now take on the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference final.
The series kicks off at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night. Here’s everything you need to know.
Series schedule
The Rangers and Panthers will play every other day starting Wednesday. The full series schedule is below.
Mark your calendars, it's time for the ECF! pic.twitter.com/KV1U3plpXu
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 18, 2024
How we got here
The Rangers are returning to the Eastern Conference final for the second time in three years and fifth since 2012. They entered the playoffs after recording a franchise-best 114 points in the regular season and winning the Presidents’ Trophy.
In the first round, the Rangers swept the Capitals, thanks to a dominant power play and elite goaltending.
The second round was much more precarious. The Rangers won their first three games against the Hurricanes before immediately losing two in a row. Trailing 3-1 entering the third period of Game 6, Chris Kreider scored a natural hat trick and the Rangers won 5-3 to advance.
The Panthers are in the conference final for a second consecutive season after series victories over the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. The Atlantic Division champions notched 110 points this season, good for third in the conference behind only the Rangers and Hurricanes.
History
The Rangers and Panthers have played three entertaining games against each other this season.
The Panthers, led by three assists from Aleksander Barkov, held on for a 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Dec. 29. The teams did not battle again until March 4, when Sam Reinhart scored two goals and the Panthers beat the Rangers 4-2. In their final matchup of the season, the Rangers came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Panthers 4-3 in a shootout.
This year will be the second time the Rangers and Panthers are facing off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the first round of the 1997 playoffs, the Rangers defeated the Panthers in five games. Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier combined for six goals, five assists and 11 points in the series.
Storylines to watch
There will be some series star power in this series.
The Rangers boast a roster that includes All-Stars Adam Fox, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe headline a stacked group for the Panthers.
This matchup also features two of the best goaltenders in hockey.
Over the last few weeks, Igor Shesterkin has reminded everyone just how good he is. The Russian is 8-2 with a .923 save percentage in the playoffs, which ranks first among goalies whose teams are still alive.
Fellow Russian Sergei Bobrovsky was a Vezina Trophy finalist after securing an NHL-best six shutouts this season. But he has had some hiccups recently, most notably allowing four goals on 28 shots in Game 1 against the Bruins.
This series will be a battle of two formidable power plays. During the regular season, the Rangers converted on 26.4% of their opportunities, good for third-best in the league. They have been even better in the playoffs, tallying 11 power-play goals in 35 attempts (31.4%).
The Panthers are not too shabby either, scoring nine power-play goals in the first two rounds after finishing the season with the eighth-best power play in the NHL.
