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The New York Rangers' three-decade long Stanley Cup drought will last another year.
The Rangers were shut out 2-0 Saturday night in a Game 6 Eastern Conference Finals elimination loss to the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers will advance to face either the Dallas Stars or Edmonton Oilers as they earn a ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season.
The Rangers' inability to push the ECF to seven games and force a deciding winner-takes-all contest at Madison Square Game frustrated fans, especially after New York opened the playoffs with a dominant seven-game win streak.
Adam Weinrib @AdamWeinribEvery single year, the Rangers are the third or fourth best team in the NHL.<br><br>Every single year, in a sport that everyone tells me is dominated by luck and allows anyone to prosper, the Rangers finish third or fourth and can't overcome a better team.<br><br>Boring.
The Panthers' opened the scoring with less than one minute remaining in the first period, when Evan Rodrigues' back pass to Sam Bennett put Florida on the board:
Former Ranger Vladimir Tarasenko added to the deficit with another strike midway through the second period:
The Rangers made a final push by pulling Igor Shesterkin, which sparked a late goal from Artemi Panarin:
The push was too little, too late as the Rangers were unable to find the tying goal in the final minute.
The Panthers defense blocked 23 shots, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves to backstop Florida to the win.
Shesterkin made 32 stops in the loss, bringing back memories of the years New York was unable to win a Cup with Henrik Lundqvist in net:
The loss led disappointed Rangers fans to call for major changes this offseason.
Others gave credit to the Panthers for their ability to take control of Game 6 and repeat as Eastern Conference champions:
The Rangers were fighting to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014, and to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994.
Now the fans will have to wait at least another year to see the trophy return to New York.
The Panthers, seeking redemption after losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights in last year's Stanley Cup Final, will meanwhile wait for their opponent. The Oilers currently hold a 3-2 Western Conference Finals series lead over the Stars and could earn their Final ticket with a win when the puck drops for Game 6 Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
