New York Rangers Taste Overtime Heartbreak in Game Four Against the Florida Panthers

Overtime heartbreak is the summary of game four. Blake Wheeler made his long-awaited return to the lineup, but the Rangers couldn't overcome the ferocious Panthers, as a powerplay winner in the extra frame would break the hearts of the Blueshirts faithful worldwide. This series is tied after the first four games, so we're returning to Madison Square Garden for a best-of-three. Only six wins separate the Rangers from the Stanley Cup.

The first goal of game four came in the first period when the Rangers powerplay would do what it does best and blast the puck home. Vincent Torcheck would be the one to put a dime of a shot over the shoulder of Sergei Bobrovsky and off the bar as it bounced down and into the net to give the Rangers an early lead. If this held, the Blueshirts would come home knowing a win would send them to the Stanley Cup Finals.

That didn't hold. A Sam Bennett shot would handcuff Igor Shesterkin as it hit the side of his helmet as a Panthers powerplay expired. It trickled behind the Russian netminder and pinballed around before it eventually squeaked over the line and into the net, where the Rangers were unable to hook it off the line, and the game was tied. Everything is back to square one as we continue to look for a winner in this game.

On the man advantage, Florida would steal their second goal of the game. A bouncing puck in front of the net hit Carter Verhaeghe up high, hit the helmet of Ryan Lindgren, and sat in the air in front of Igor Shesterkin, allowing him to swat the puck home from the edge of the crease to give the Panthers their first lead of the night. New York needed another goal if they were to win this one.

In the third period, the Rangers would get a goal to tie the game up, coming from the stick of a confident Quebecois winger. Adam Fox would play a give-and-go with Artemi Panarin before spinning in the right circle to shake a defender. His shot pass is off target, but it hits Alexis Lafreniere's stick and bounces into the net to tie the game up at two. A great play by the star defenseman has this game tied.

So, we head to the extra frame where the Rangers would experience heartbreak for the first time in this series. Sam Reinhart would finish a pretty passing play from the Panthers on the powerplay. Point to point to the boards before getting the puck to the goal line; it would bounce into the slot for Reinhart, who cruised through the slot to bury the game-winner, and we're coming back to the Garden with the series tied.