Rangers 2, Panthers 1
Defenseman Matt Hunwick scored his first goal in nearly three years and Cam Talbot made 38 saves as host New York skated to its fifth straight victory.
Fourth-liner James Sheppard also tallied, Dominic Moore notched two assists and Hunwick added one for the Rangers, who improved to 14-1-2 in their last 17 games to move three points ahead of the second-place New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. Talbot stopped all 20 shots he faced in the second period to improve to 13-2-3 since Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined with a vascular injury.
Brandon Pirri scored for the second straight contest for Florida, which saw its three-game winning streak halted and remained six points behind Boston in the race for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Dan Ellis turned aside 32 shots to fall to 3-1-1 since being recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on March 4.
Replacing Tanner Glass in the lineup, Sheppard skated out of the right corner and toward the side of the net before chipping Moore's shot past Ellis to open the scoring with 2:16 remaining in the first period. Panthers rookie defenseman Aaron Ekblad's bid to forge a tie caromed off the crossbar late in the second before Hunwick's shot from the point sailed through traffic and into the net at 8:37 of the third.
Florida trimmed the deficit 94 seconds later as Nick Bjugstad won an offensive-zone faceoff and Pirri wired a quick shot that handcuffed Talbot. The Panthers pressed for the equalizer, but New York killed off a late power play to seal the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hunwick's goal was his first since he scored against the Rangers on March 17, 2012, while playing with Colorado. ... Glass was involved in a brutal fight with Buffalo's Nicolas Delauriers late in the second period on Saturday. Coach Alain Vigneault told reporters that Glass was dealing with upper-body soreness and was given the day off. ... The Rangers failed on both power-play opportunities and are 0-for-14 in the last five games. ... New York honored D Dan Boyle prior to the contest for skating in his 1,000th game of his career on March 4.