Panthers top Rangers in battle of Eastern Conference heavyweights

Ryan Lomberg scored the tie-breaking goal early in the third period Monday night for the visiting Florida Panthers, who continued surging with a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers in a battle of Eastern Conference division leaders.

Sam Reinhart scored twice — both times off impressive feeds from Aleksander Barkov — for the Panthers, who won their fifth straight game and for the 15th time in 17 games (15-2-0) to remain two points ahead of the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division and increase their NHL-leading points total to 88.

Gustav Forsling set up the game-winner by poking a loose puck in the neutral zone to Lomberg, whose shot from the faceoff circle at 6:11 glanced off the skate of Jacob Trouba and fluttered past Igor Shesterkin in net.

Anton Lundell added an empty-netter with 58.2 seconds remaining.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers.

Will Cuylle and Chris Kreider scored power play goals for the Rangers, who have lost two straight and three of four (1-3-0), the latter of which is their worst four-game stretch since they went 0-3-1 from Jan. 6-13. New York is six points ahead of the idle Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division.

Shesterkin recorded 25 saves.

Cuylle gave the Rangers the lead by scoring as the power play expired with 3:21 left in the first. Bobrovsky deflected a shot by Jacob Trouba but couldn't cover up the puck before Cuylle tucked the rebound under his legs.

Barkov and Reinhart teamed up twice within a span of 2:45 shortly beyond the midway point of the second. Barkov produced a highlight-reel assist on the tying goal when he bounced an airborne puck on his stick twice — the second time while navigating it around Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller — before diving and passing to Reinhart, who buried a point-blank shot under Shesterkin's glove at the 10:11 mark.

The Panthers took the lead following another nifty sequence in which Barkov, who was surrounded near the boards by Kreider and Adam Fox, passed to Reinhart, who immediately dished back to Barkov before racing into the slot. The center then took another pass from Barkov and fired a shot beyond Shesterkin's stick.

The Rangers tied the score with 4:34 left, when Kreider corralled the rebound of a shot by Vincent Trocheck and maintained control of the puck until Bobrovsky lost his stick, after which Kreider sent an angled shot along the goal line.

—Field Level Media