The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers will face off in this years Eastern Conference Final. Both teams had very similar regular seasons. The Rangers won the Presidents Trophy. The Panthers won the Atlantic Division. The oddsmakers see the Cats as slight favorites in this series. They made the Cup Final last season as a wild card team, ultimately losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in 5 games. The Blueshirts look to deliver their first Stanley Cup since 1994. But who has the edge in this series? Let’s find out…
Forwards
The Rangers and Panthers each have game-breaking stars on offense. Their top two lines are known to score goals when needed.
Rangers
Artemi Panarin had a fabulous regular season and is keeping pace in the playoffs. He set career highs in almost all categories. Vincent Trocheck was great in the regular season and has been even better this spring. Like Panarin, he set a new career high in points. Mika Zibanejad had a down year for his standards, but is proving to be a 16 game player. His work on the power play and penalty kill does not go unnoticed. Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere have elevated their games as well. Kreider has came up huge in clutch moments and Lafreniere has also scored big time goals.
Panthers
The Cats also have big time forwards. Starting with their two time Selke winning captain Aleksander Barkov. He is one of the best two way players in the game who can change how the opposition plays. Moreover, Matthew Tkachuk has been one of the most consistent players in the league since 2021 and is known to have a knack to score big playoff goals. His physicality makes him a force to be reckoned with. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe have shown that they are more than capable of lighting the lamp on a consistent basis.
Advantage: There isn’t one category that a certain team is miles better in, and both teams can score at will, so I call it even.
Defensemen
Like the offense, both teams have players that can impact the game on the blue line.
Rangers
The Rangers top pair, headlined by Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren, have not looked up to par so far in these playoffs. Fox is currently dealing with a knee injury that he sustained in the first round. He only has 4 four points in ten games and has not been up to par. Lindgren has also looked a bit shaky. Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller lead the second pair after a recent lines shakeup. The advanced stats do not favor them together. Braden Schneider and Miller have been very good when paired together. Erik Gustafsson is now on the third pair with Schneider. Just like the regular season, the defense can be inconsistent.
Panthers
The Panthers have arguably the best top defensive pair in the entire league: Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad. They are amazing defensively, and can even chip in with points at times. Their second pair consists or former Ranger Niko Mikkola and Brandon Montour. Mikkola has shown spurts of bring good, and Montour had a career year last year and followed it up in the playoffs. Lastly, to the third pair, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov are two veterans that are steady on the back end.
Advantage: Due to the questions and health regarding the Rangers pairings, I will give the edge to the Panthers.
Goaltending
This series will feature two of the best goalies in the league: Igor Shesterkin and Sergei Bobrovsky. The Russian netminders have proven that when needed, they can be the backbone for their team. But more so Shesterkin, whom single handedly won two games in the Hurricanes series. Bobrovsky hasn’t been tested much in the Bruins series, but he still put up respectable numbers. Igor, on the other hand, has been amazing when the Rangers needed him most. Highlightd by a 54 save performance in Game 2 vs Carolina, the Rangers would not have won that game if it wasn’t for his late game heroics. Now against the Panthers, he will have to be just as sharp. Same goes for Bobrovsky. If either goalie has an off game, their team will probably lose knowing who is in the other net.
Advantage: It is hard to bet against Igor, and no disrespect to Bobrovsky, but Shesterkin is the better of the two. He is the most important player for the Rangers and will have to be if they want to win the Stanley Cup.
Special Teams
There is no denying that these two teams are amongst the ones whom have the strongest special teams. In the regular season, the Rangers power play and penalty kill totaled in at 26.4 percent (3rd in league) and 84.5% (3rd in league), respectively. The Panthers power play was 23.5% (8th in league) and penalty kill at 82.5% (6th in league). However, in the playoffs, The Rangers rank top 3 in both categories yet again (3rd in PP, 2nd in PK). The Cats power play still remains in 8th, and their penalty kill is third just behind New York. Each team has stars to deply on each one of their units.
Advantage: Just strictly based on the numbers, the Rangers have the better special teams. However, it is not as lopsided as some think.
X-Factors
Rangers
If the Rangers want to win this series, they need Adam Fox to be at his best. He hasn’t been up to par through the first two rounds, as his four points in ten games would prove, but these six days off may be exactly what he and the Rangers needed. Should he be close to fully healthy, the Rangers will be in a good spot.
Panthers
The Panthers star players have mainly showed up so far. But if they want to continue their run, Anton Lundell is someone to keep an eye on. So far in these playoffs he has 2 goals and 7 assists. He has been elevated into a top six role with his recent play. If he keeps it up, the 22 year old is a great complementary piece to an already lethal offense.
Prediction
The majority of people think that this series is going at minimum six games. These were the two best teams in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, and now they get to clash off to see who represents the East in this years Stanley Cup. If the regular season meetings were any indication of how this round will go, we are all in for a treat.
It won’t be easy. The Panthers are the best team the Blueshirts may face all playoffs. All season they have faced and overcame adversity. If they play like we know they can, their franchise-record season will go on.
Continuing their magical run and along the likes of Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider, I am predicting the Rangers to win in seven games.
BS Reports 
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