The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers returned to the ice at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night for Game 5. In perfect alignment with the rest of the evenly contested 2024 Eastern Conference Finals series, the game entered the third period tied at two in a series that is knotted up at the same figure. After the Game 1 shutout from the Panthers, every other game has required overtime.

So, why wouldn’t Game 5 enter the final frame with a razor-thin margin for error? The advantage in the series hung in the balance as anxious hockey fans looked on from Madison Square Garden. Game 5 Tied Late In Fitting Fashion The first 10 minutes of the third period somehow seemed even faster than the breakneck pace that the games between Florida and New York have already been. Shortly after the midway point of the final regulation period, the Rangers watched their home-ice advantage slip away like the puck that wiggled through the arms of Shesterkin past the thin red goal line.

Anton Lundell scored his first goal of the series at 10:22 of the third period to give the Panthers the 3-2 lead. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin sat on the ice for longer than usual likely wishing he had squeezed his arms just a little bit tighter to his body. Florida scored an empty net goal to make the score 4-2 before New York’s Alexis Lafreniere pulled the Blueshirts closer with a goal under a minute to play.

It was not enough as Sergei Bobrovsky secured the final seconds to secure Game 5 for the Florida.