Pre-Game Skate (3/15/15): Florida Panthers (31-23-14) @ New York Rangers (43-17-7)

Hit The Ice: The Panthers finally got what they needed: a win and a three game winning streak. Unfortunately, the Boston Bruins won yet again pulling into a tie with a fellow Wild Card holder in the Washington Capital. Both of those teams play each other tonight on national television. Regardless of the result of that game, one thing is certain for the Panthers: they must find a way to win in a back-to-back situation tonight in order to stay relevant in the playoff hunt. They will have to do it too against the league’s best and hottest team. The odds are stacked against the Panthers, can they pull off a win under pressure? On to the game!

Know Your Enemy: Panthers All-Time Record v. NY Rangers: 32-40-7 with 6 ties All-Time Record v. NY Rangers on the Road: 14-23-1 with 4 ties 2014-15 Season Record v. NY Rangers: 0-2-0 Last Game: 2/2/15 @ Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), Rangers won 6-3 Once upon a time this season, the Panthers were tussling with the Rangers for a Wild Card spot. Today, the Rangers stand at the very top of the NHL standings with 93 points and 40 ROWs to break the four-way tie with Montreal, Anaheim, and Nashville. It has been an impressive climb for the reigning Eastern Conference Champions, as they started the season slow out of the gate. Their performance is even more impressive when you consider that ace goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has missed the last month and more with a vascular injury to his neck. He last played a game on February 2 against these same Panthers at Madison Square Garden. Backup Cam Talbot has been sensational in Lundqvist’s absence. The Rangers have lost just two of 19 games in regulation since Lundqvist went down, and having lost just an additional three games in overtime or the shootout. Talbot himself has 12 of 14 victories at a .923 save percentage and 2.27 GAA, with 3rd string goalie Mackenzie Skapski collecting the other two victories against the hard tanking Buffalo Sabres. It isn’t just Cam Talbot carrying the team though, seven Rangers have 10 or more points in these last 18 games. Derick Brassard and Rick Nash both lead the way with 16 points. Brassard leads the Rangers with 14 assists over that time, while Nash leads the team with eight goals. Mats Zuccarello (14), Kevin Hayes (14), Martin St. Louis (11), Chris Kreider (10), and Derek Stepan (10) round out the group of top Rangers scorers. They even added one of the most coveted defensemen at the trade deadline to their roster in Keith Yandle. If all of that wasn’t scary enough, the Rangers have won four games in a row heading into tonight.

The Rundown: Panthers Leaders & Special Teams Goals: Nick Bjugstad (24) Assists: Jussi Jokinen (32) Points: Nick Bjugstad & Jonathan Huberdeau (41) SAT Relative: Brian Campbell (+4.1%) Scoring Chances Relative: Vincent Trocheck (+6.2%) Power Play: 16.0% (33 for 206, 27th) Penalty Kill: 79.8% (168 for 210, 24th) Rangers Leaders & Special Teams Goals: Rick Nash (39) Assists: Derick Brassard (38) Points: Rick Nash (62) SAT Relative: Dan Boyle (+7.8%) Scoring Chances Relative: Dan Boyle (+9.8%) Power Play: 17.7% (34 for 192, 20th) Penalty Kill: 83.3% (165 for 198, 8th) *SAT and Scoring Chances calculated at 5v5, having played at least one half of team’s games.

The Hat Trick: No Shorties: At 68 games, this is the longest the Panthers have ever gone between shorthanded goals in franchise history. With just 14 games remaining in the season, the Panthers are in danger of becoming just the third team since 1987 to go an entire season (lockout shortened seasons not included) without a shorthanded goal. The last team to do it was the 1999-00 Boston Bruins, who went 24-33-6 with 19 ties. That team finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, 12 points shy of a playoff spot. The other team to do it was the 1997-98 New York Rangers, a team that finished 25-39 with 18 ties at 11th in the Eastern Conference, a full 15 points out of a playoff spot. While our Panthers are doing much better than those teams did, it is a bit disconcerting to see the company the Panthers would be keeping, should they fail to score a shorty before the season ends. Galloping Triplets: Last night marked just the second time this season that the Panthers managed to win three games in a row. This is the first time that the Panthers have had multiple three game win streaks since the 2011-12 season, when they had five such individual streaks, including a five game win streak from March 11, 2012 vs. Carolina to March 20, 2012 at Philadelphia. That isn’t the most recent five game win streak though. Lost in the muck and mire of the 2013-14 season, the Panthers did manage to win five games in a row, beating Detroit at home on December 10, 2013, and stretching all the way to December 19, 2013 at Ottawa. Danny Boy: Since being called up after Goalie-mageddon, Dan Ellis has solidly filled in for the fallen Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya. In four starts, he is 3-0-1, with 7 of 8 possible points, a .925 save percentage and a 1.92 GAA. Not bad for a guy who didn’t grab a single point last season in his handful of appearances after arriving from Dallas, posting a save percentage well under .900, and a GAA well above 3.00. To get a taste of how well Ellis has played thus far, he’s got a .909 save percentage when shorthanded, that’s above the league average of .865 and ranks 10th amongst goaltenders who have killed a minimum of 10 minutes of penalties. It appears that he may get the start again tonight, less than 24 hours after whitewashing the Carolina Hurricanes. In his career against the New York Rangers, Ellis is 3-2-2 with .926 save percentage and 2.63 GAA. His last game against the Rangers played on April 25, 2013, when he dressed in net for the Carolina Hurricanes. He lost 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Ryan Callahan.

Closing Thoughts: Win tonight, and the Panthers will be a maximum of five points back of the last wild card after tonight, guaranteed.

AJ can be reached for contact on Twitter .

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