Postgame takeaways: Rangers come up just short against NHL-best Panthers

NEW YORK - The Rangers can absolutely hang with the Florida Panthers. They just haven't proven they can beat them yet.

Monday's heavyweight matchup between the Eastern Conference's top-two teams lived up to the hype and ended with the NHL's best retaining its belt. A third-period goal from Ryan Lomberg proved to be the difference in a 4-2 win for the Panthers, who have now narrrowly defeated the Blueshirts in both of their regular-season meetings.

The first came on Dec. 29 in Sunrise, and now they've seized a victory on Madison Square Garden ice. As a result, they still atop the league's overall standings, while the Metro Division-leading Rangers fell to third place in the conference behind Florida and Boston.

"Fast, skilled, physical," Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said when asked about his impressions of the Panthers. "They don't give you much in the in the (offensive) zone. They play a tight man-on-man, and obviously really good goaltending, too. It's a really good team over there. I think we play them one more time – third time of the year (on Mar. 23 at MSG) – so it'll be it'll be a fun one."

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It was a tight-checking, bodies-flying, fight-for-every-inch kind of affair − "Not a lot of space," as Chris Kreider put it − with the intensity palpable from the players on the ice to the amped-up Garden crowd.

Both teams defended as hard as they pushed for offense, with that extra effort a sure sign of how badly they wanted to beat one another. There were a number big hits involving everyone from bruising 6-foot-8 rookie Matt Rempe to skilled-scorer Artemi Panarin, as well as a handful of after-the-whistle scrums.

The Rangers, who have ramped up their own physicality in recent weeks, did not back down against a team that was previously considered to have an advantage in the grit department.

"It’s something (head coach Peter Laviolette) preaches, is physicality and speed, and you definitely noticed tonight," Lindgren said. "They’re a team that likes to hit and bang and try to get under your skin, and we didn't back away from anything. We responded to it and threw some good hits of our own."

It was a back-and-forth battle through two-plus periods, but once the Lomberg goal dropped with 13:49 to play, the Panthers clamped down even harder.

Only six of the Rangers' 28 shots came in the final 20 minutes, while Florida registered its highest total of any period with 12.

"Once they got the lead, they clogged down the neutral zone with the lock," Laviolette said. "We needed to move the puck quicker and put it behind them and get on the forecheck. I don't think we did a very good job of that once they got the lead. We didn’t get in there and sustain pressure."

Punch, and counter punch

After sizing each other up for the first 10 or so minutes, the Rangers (40-18-4) willed their way to striking first.

It came on an effort play from Will Cuylle, who fought his way to the front of the Florida net and jumped on a Jacob Trouba rebound as New York's first power play was expiring.

"For the first period, we were kind of feeling each other out," Kreider said. "We had some opportunities throughout the game to potentially take a hold of it. I think that we gave them a little bit too much time and space at times, but any success we had was from checking them tightly and closing and advancing pucks quickly."

The rookie's 11th goal of the season made it 1-0 with 3:21 remaining in the first period, but the Panthers (42-16-4) responded with a couple quick strikes of their own in the second. Both goals came from Sam Reinhart, who now sits alone in second place in the NHL with 44 goals.

The first was setup by a high-skill play from Aleksander Barkov, who juggled a bouncing puck while rushing to the net and batted it out of the air to an open Reinhart. Just 2:45 later, Reinhart unleashed a shot from the slot to make it 2-1 Panthers.

But the Rangers' power play, which was six for its previous 48 entering Monday, would strike again to tie the score later in the period. It was another hard-working play around the net, this one from Kreider for his 31st goal of the season.

"Our process was better," Kreider said of the power play. "That’s a team that forced us to play a little quicker and we were able to cash in on a couple of opportunities. But I think that mentality of kind of moving the puck, releasing the pressure, releasing the pressure, and then attacking the net and just kind of getting in that flow is what made us successful – and will continue to make us successful."

That made it 2-2 and setup a winner-takes-all third period, with the winning goal coming on a surprisingly unexciting shot from Lomberg. He launched a long wrister from high above the left circle that deflected off Trouba’s skate and beat a squared-up Igor Shesterkin clean on the glove side.

The goal itself seemed to bother Laviolette less than what he deemed "a call that was missed" moments earlier when Florida forward Kevin Stenlund appeared to hook Jonny Brodzinski, causing the turnover that led to a rush going the other way.

That gave the Panthers a 3-2 edge, which was all they needed to lock down their fifth straight win. Anton Lundell added a late empty-netter to seal the Rangers' fate in a game they felt they let slip away.

Florida was especially effective at shutting down what's been the Blueshirts' most productive line. It was a rare off night for the Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière trio, which was held off the scoresheet at five-on-five and outshot, 8-3, in 12:28 time on ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.

"When we're playing well, I think we can matchup against anybody," Trocheck said. "It's just a matter of us being able to change the way we're doing things whenever something's not working. I think tonight, they did a really good job of staying on top of us, and whenever teams are able to do that, you want to make sure you find a different way to play offensive-zone time. We didn't do a great job of that."

Next up: Trade deadline

The term "playoff atmosphere" is thrown around a lot, but Monday truly had that feel.

It would surprise no one if these teams collide again this spring, which at this rate would have to come in the Eastern Conference Finals.

They each should look a little different by then, with both teams expected to make moves prior to Friday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. The Rangers are hoping to add at least two forwards, with their sights set on Seattle center Alex Wennberg as a primary target. The 29-year-old was held out of Monday's game in Calgary for what Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol deemed “trade-related reasons,” with New York, Boston and Colorado considered the front-runners for his services.

Whichever moves team president Chris Drury makes in the coming days will be aimed at closing the very slim gap between the Blueshirts and the league's best, with reason to believe that an extra jolt of scoring, speed and tenacity could make the difference.

Laviolette wanted nothing to do with the ongoing speculation − "I’m just leaving the game right now and focusing on the next one," he said − while players said they'll patiently await news as they enjoy a break in the schedule.

The Rangers won't play again until the day after the deadline, a Saturday night home game against the St. Louis Blues. By then, their roster should feature a couple new faces.

"It's rare that you get four days in the middle of the season without a game," Trocheck said. "So, personally, take some time to get some rest and heal any bruises that you have. Obviously, if we make trade or if something happens around this time of year, everybody's aware of it. You’ve just got to take whatever it is in stride and roll with the punches."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.