New York went two for three on the power play and Erik Gudbranson scored his first NHL goal for Florida in the first period.
The first period was marked by five power plays, but the Rangers capitalized on their chances, while the Panthers went 0-for-2.
Brad Richards opened the scoring at the 11:40 mark with his 11th goal of the season with an assist from Ryan Callahan on the Rangers second power play.
The Panthers enjoyed a man advantage, but came away empty and were called for a tripping penalty on Tomas Fleischmann. The Rangers answered with Artem Anisimov’s sixth goal of the season with assists from Erik Christensen and Anton Strahlman. Rangers led 2-0.
Just 40 seconds later the Cats would cut the lead in half when Erik Gudbranson scored his first NHL goal with assists from Kris Versteeg and Stephen Weiss with a slapshot from the point.
Hits: Rangers, 12-7
Blocked Shots: Rangers, 6-5
Faceoffs: Panthers, 8-7
Shots: Rangers, 9-7
Score: Rangers 2, Panthers 1