Rangers eliminated with another 1-goal loss in Game 6

SUNRISE, Fla. -- The New York Rangers finally ran into a team they could not solve. 

Worse yet, the Florida Panthers stole their resolve.

"I don't think you can say they don't deserve to win," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. "I think they definitely deserved to win series. We were right there, but just came up a little short."

Six games in the Eastern Conference Final, four losses, the last three by one goal, and it's all over, leaving the Rangers thinking about what could have been in this once-magical season instead of getting ready for Game 7 and talking about what still could be.

The Panthers eliminated the Rangers from the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 win in Game 6 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, sending the Presidents' Trophy winners into the offseason earlier than they thought and believed would happen.

"It just felt special this year," Trouba said. "It felt like we had something in this room. There was a bond."

Only one team can win the Stanley Cup each year, only two can get to the Stanley Cup Final, so being among the final four standing is no small thing and does not mean this Rangers season that featured a franchise-record 55 wins and 114 points was wasted or lost or meaningless.

But for the first time all season the Rangers could not come up with the big goal or the momentum-swinging power play, staples of their game that created their resilient identity this season that led to an NHL-record 34 comeback wins between the regular season and playoffs.

They scored 12 goals in six games, but take away the five they had in Game 3 and it's seven in the other five games, including zero in Game 1 and one in Game 6.

"It was difficult to score," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Ultimately, that's something we were able to do pretty consistently throughout the course of the year. You look at the scores, you look at the games, low-scoring, one-goal games, and ultimately I think just trying to find that next goal inside of a game could be the difference."

The last five games of the series were all decided by one goal; the Rangers could not find the right side of that small margin in Games 4, 5 and 6 after slipping through with overtime wins in Games 2 and 3. 

They lost 3-0 in Game 1, but even that was 1-0 until an own-goal off the stick of Alexis Lafreniere made it 2-0 with 3:48 remaining in the third period and an empty-net goal sealed it.

"They got to their game more consistently," forward Chris Kreider said. "They were dialed in on what they were doing and they broke the puck out 99 percent of the time on the strong side. We needed to do a better job knowing that was the case and we did it in spurts. There were opportunities for us to generate offense going low to high, shooting pucks quick, spreading them out in the ‘D’ zone. We did it in spurts. They got to their game more often than we did."

New York's power play was 1-for-15 in the series, including 1-for-7 in the last three games. The only chance it had in Game 6 came in the first period; the Rangers got one shot on goal and two attempts. 

One or two power-play goals could have been the difference in the series. One or two power-play goals in the last three games and the Rangers and Panthers probably would be preparing for Game 7 on Monday.

"There's a lot that goes into trying to figure out the defense of the opposition," Laviolette said, "but they were aggressive with what they were doing, they were successful and we had a hard time, just like 5-on-5, finding that goal on the power play."

The one thing that was spot-on for the Rangers was the play of goalie Igor Shesterkin, who was arguably the best player in the series, the Panthers included, but Kreider said that only adds to the disappointment and frustration over losing the series the way they did.

Shesterkin faced 200 shots, an average of 33.3 per game, and allowed 14 goals, posting a 2.25 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. He averaged 31.2 saves per game. He made 32 saves Saturday.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said he hadn't seen a performance in a series by a goalie like Shesterkin's in this one since 2002, when he coached the Carolina Hurricanes and they went up against Jose Theodore and the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

That series, like this one, ended in six games, with Maurice and the Hurricanes prevailing on their way to the Stanley Cup Final, but Theodore faced 202 shots and allowed 18 goals for a .911 save percentage.

"He won the Hart Trophy (as NHL MVP) that year, and we had a very similar experience until kind of the last game where he was just lights out," Maurice said of Theodore. "We got in alone (against Shesterkin) at least four times in Games 1-5 and six times one game and we got nothing. [Shesterkin] was brilliant in this series."

And the Rangers still couldn't even push it to Game 7.

"I've been on a lot of teams that that was the case," Kreider said. "Certainly we were lucky to have Henrik [Lundqvist] for a long time too. [Shesterkin] gives us a chance every single night."

The Rangers are out of chances now. 

The harsh reality of finality was settling in as they were slowly and quietly showering, changing and packing up to get out of here, to get home and into the offseason that is starting earlier than they thought or believed it would.

Sixty-five wins. Six too few.

"It's a lot to process," Kreider said.