The Rangers have one more game to find some answers offensively against the Panthers, or their dreams of ending their 30-year drought without hoisting the Stanley Cup will end prematurely.
Five games into this conference final and the Rangers’ Big 3 on offense remain, for the most part, missing in action.
That’s as good a reason as any for their 3-2 loss to the Panthers on Thursday night at the Garden, leaving them one stressful game from elimination, down 3-2 in the series as it shifts to Florida for Game 6 on Saturday night.
Paging Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Goals are needed.
Yes, Kreider scored the first of two Rangers goals Thursday, ending his four-game slide without a single point.
And yes, Zibanejad assisted on the Kreider goal as well as the desperation six-on-five Alexis Lafreniere goal with 50 seconds remaining in the game, his first two points of the series.
And yes, Panarin had two assists in Game 4, a 3-2 overtime loss Tuesday.
But one goal in five games among the three players who produced 114 of them in the regular season is not going to get the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final.
Credit Florida, and its tenacious and relentless forechecking, for absolutely suffocating the Rangers goal-scorers.
The Florida style is shrinking the ice space for the Rangers skaters, and the Rangers look completely befuddled, without answers.
“We don’t prep differently for their elite players — from their top line to their fourth line,’’ Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after the game. “We view them as the same. The difference is our elite players are going against their elite players. I don’t think there’s any tactical difference.
“I don’t think there’s anything from a coaching point of view other than to adhere to our style of game pretty well. We didn’t circle [Tampa Bay’s Nikita] Kucherov [in the Panthers’ first playoff series]. We didn’t circle [Boston’s Dave] Pastrnak. I’m just going to play all my best players against all their best players.’’
You know how that’s going.
Kreider, before his goal Thursday, had not been alone in his offensive slump.
Zibanejad last scored a goal 11 games ago in the series opener against Carolina, and was also without a single point in the series until his two assists Thursday.
Panarin, who led the team with 49 goals and 120 points in the regular season, scored his last goal in Game 3 of the Carolina series, eight games ago.
The Rangers now fly to Florida in search of answers with their season hanging in the balance.
“Every game has been super close like this,’’ Kreider said.
“Another close game,’’ Zibanejad said. “They got going in the third period and got some chances, and we don’t get out of our zone and play our best hockey, getting on the forecheck. I thought we had some changes to make it 2-all. But when they score [to go up, 2-1], it becomes a little bit more desperation and trying to push.
“We’re trying to chase that tying goal, and it wasn’t the case today. Just regroup and try to go down there and win a game.’’
