Shesterkin makes 26 saves in Rangers' 3-1 victory over Panthers

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NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Sykora broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Igor Shesterkin made 26 saves and the New York Rangers defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Sunday.

Sykora, a rookie who was a second-round pick in 2022, scored his second goal of the season at 5:10, tipping Adam Fox's shot past Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Conor Sheary then scored his fifth of the season — on a short-handed breakaway — at 11:14 before Fox added an empty-netter at 16:06.

Sykora also scored in the Rangers' 6-1 win against Chicago on Friday. The Rangers are just 11-18-7 at home this season.

Florida's Mackie Samoskevich scored with 40.2 seconds left to end Shesterkin's shutout bid.

New York nearly scored late in the second when Mika Zibanejad’s shot with 1:35 left skittered along the goal line before Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling cleared it out.

Florida appeared to take the lead at 3:22 of the third when Matthew Tkachuk scored on a breakaway, but the Rangers challenged and the play was ruled offside.

Florida was coming off a 5-2 loss at the New York Islanders on Saturday in which Tkachuk scored both goals.

Panthers: host Ottawa on Tuesday.

Rangers: host New Jersey on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl