New York Rangers and Florida Panthers Continue to Thrive
The New York Rangers and Florida Panthers have been playing some of their best hockey of the season in recent weeks. With their recent surges, Florida and New York are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference with 78 and 77 points.
If anything has been proven, it’s that the Eastern Conference continues to dominate the rest of the league. That seems to be the case once again as the two best teams in hockey might very well be the Rangers and Panthers.
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With eight straight wins, the Rangers are on the longest winning streak in the league and will look to continue dominating as they have a tough stretch coming up against their rivals in the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers.
New York beat the Islanders in the Stadium Series game, an emotional win in front of the Metlife Stadium crowd.
While it would’ve been easy for them to let that win get to them, they turned things around two days later and beat the Dallas Stars, arguably the best team in the Western Conference.
Adam Fox had the following to say about the team’s win, according to FLM of CBS Sports.
“I thought it would have been easy for us, after that emotional win (Sunday), to maybe have a little letdown in emotion or energy here, but I thought we were on it from the start,” Fox said. “I think the last two games our first periods weren’t great. I think, obviously, getting a goal helped to start with a lead, and again, it was just a good defensive effort.”
What the Panthers have done recently might be just as impressive, winning six straight and going 9-1 in their last 10 games. They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 9-2, the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2, and the Colorado Avalanche 4-0 in this stretch.
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This type of play allowed them to jump the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division.
Matthew Tkachuk has led the way for Florida, posting 65 poins, the 14th most in the NHL. Teammate Sasha Barkov had nothing but praise for the way he’s played recently, saying the following, according to David Dwork of The Hockey News.
“He’s tearing it up right now, but I think the whole season, whether he’s on the scoresheet or not, he’s been a key player for us,” said Panthers captain Sasha Barkov. “On the ice, obviously, everyone sees what he’s doing, off the ice, he’s the leader. He does everything right. I’ve said so many good things about him, he’s just incredible.”
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Who’s The Better Team?
Despite the recent play from both teams, who’s the best?
That’s a tough question to answer, given the recent play of both teams. The Panthers have a +51 goal differential, while the Rangers are +31. Both are impressive, but the 20-point differential between them is significant.
The Rangers and the Panthers have the same amount with 188 in terms of goals scored. That ranks them both in the upper half of the Eastern Conference. Florida has allowed just 137 goals as Sergei Bobrovsky has arguably been the best goalkeeper in hockey. The 35-year-old Bobrovsky has allowed 2.39 goals per game, the sixth fewest in hockey.
That’s been the difference between them and the Rangers, as New York has allowed 157 goals.
Talent-wise, both teams are great. The Rangers have a different attitude and mindset than in recent years, which could help them in the long run. Chris Kreider spoke on the mindset, expressing the following, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN:
“We take a look at ourselves and see what we have to do,” said Mika Zibanejad, who scored a third-period power-play goal, as did Chris Kreider. “In situations when we’re down, we know what we have to do, and we’ve been pretty good at getting back on track and getting big goals, creating some sort of momentum to swing the game back our way.”
The only way to settle this would be a series between the two in the playoffs. Until then, both have proven to be the two best in the Eastern Conference as they dominate the league.
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