The New York Rangers could not shake the Florida Panthers for most of the night, Saturday.
It took the skills competition to finally get the win as the Rangers downed the Panthers, 5-4.
Henrik Lundqvist had 27 saves in the victory.
Mika Zibanejad had a goal in regulation and the skills competition – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“I feel like, going into overtime, it was just that we need this extra point no matter what,” Lundqvist said . “We had to battle. The game, I thought we played really well. I made two mistakes on two goals, and we made a couple other mistakes where they cashed in, so it felt like we should’ve been able to do enough to maybe get away with two points in regulation.
“They kept coming. So going into overtime, it was just battle mode. … The guys really stepped up in the shootout. Big points right now for us to start winning and feel good.”
The win snapped a lackluster three-game skid.
Fredrik Claesson, Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Matt Beleskey scored for New York in regulation.
“I think you always look for momentum swings, whether it’s big hits or goals,” Beleskey said. “I was just trying to bring some momentum and energy. It was definitely nice to get one tonight. … I think goals are always a plus, but [the Rangers] are looking for energy, looking for a physical guy. I think that’s what I’ve done my entire career.
“I was just trying to come up and play Matt Beleskey hockey. Hopefully good things happen like that tonight.”
Keith Yandle, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers.
“We got one point, but obviously we need two points,” Huberdeau said. “I think we had nine points out of 16 at home. So we just have to take the positives of it and go on the road. Make sure we’re ready to go in St. Louis [on Tuesday].”
New York improved to 14-12-3.
“We did a lot of good things. We did things we were hoping to accomplish throughout the week in practice. We built on it, and we didn’t sustain it. Our goal is to build off that first period. We managed to get two points,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said.
[WATCH: All Rangers vs. Panthers highlights]
Roberto Luongo made 22 saves in the loss.
“We had chances to win the game, but they did,” Barkov said. “So we’re not happy because of that. We’re happy with how we played. … In this league, if you come out the way we did in the first period, it can cost you the whole game.”
The Panthers dropped to 11-11-6.
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