The New York Rangers are visiting the Florida Panthers for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Final series tonight. The Rangers, who lead the series 2-1, are looking to take control with another win and put the Panthers in elimination territory. As for Florida, a win would put them back in business. Let’s take a look at some stats, facts, and notes before the game takes place.
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In these playoffs, there have been 36 come-from-behind victories in 75 games, tying the end-of-playoffs total recorded in 2023 in 13 fewer games. At this specific point in the postseason, that is the third-highest total ever recorded, tied with the 1993 and 2010 seasons. In playoff history, only the 1991 (37) and 1999 (38) postseasons have had more.
In the postseason thus far, there have been 39 one-goal contests. That is the highest total recorded through 75 games since 2017, which saw 47 of them at this point. The Eastern Conference Final has accounted for two of these, both of which being overtime victories for the Rangers.
Road teams have reigned supreme in these playoffs, winning 42 of the 75 total contests. Through that amount of games, only the 2023 postseason has ever matched this mark. Looking at the highest total ever recorded when all was said and done, both 2012 and 2023 had 47 of them.
Regarding this series in particular, the Rangers can take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven Conference Final for only the second time in their history. The last time they did so was against the Montreal Canadiens in 2014, a series they went on to win. With a victory for the Panthers, they can tie an Eastern Conference Final series at 2-2 for the first time in their franchise’s history.
Alexis Lafreniere, thanks to a two-goal effort in Game 3, can become just the fifth 22-and-under player in Rangers history to record seven goals in a playoff season — he currently has six. He will try to join Alexei Kovalev, teammate Filip Chytil, Don Maloney, and Don Murdoch as the only players to reach this total.
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Vincent Trocheck, who has eight multi-point contests in these playoffs, has the chance to be up there with an all-time great. Brian Leetch, who had nine such games in the Rangers’ Cup-winning season in 1994, is the only player to have had more — he was awarded the Conn Smythe.
Looking at the Panthers, Matthew Tkachuk already has seven multi-point contests. With one more, he can break the record for the most in franchise history — it is one which he himself holds, recording seven in Florida’s 2023 run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite it only being Game 4, Carter Verhaeghe can be the second-place leader for the most points recorded in a single Conference Final in team history with just one more point. With five already, he can pass Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Tom Fitzgerald for that title. The first-place holder is Dave Lowry, who had seven back in 1996.
Stats and facts courtesy of NHL PR