10:23PM: From the Rangers:

 John Tortorella on tonight’s game…
“I don’t think our start was great, but it wasn’t as slow as some of the other ones. I don’t think they created a bunch of scoring chances, eight throughout the game. It was mediocre by both (teams) and we’re certainly trying push the issue there. It was a big part of our talk before the game, our start. I don’t think we got the one that we wanted to.”
Dan Girardi on the team’s start…
“Every other team seems to come out really hard and put us on our heels. We have to find a way on the first shift and second shift, just throw everything we have at them in the first couple of shifts and create some momentum that way.”
Ryan Callahan on tonight’s game…
“We’d be concerned if we weren’t getting the chances. We had 40-something (45) shots on net.  You do that on a nightly basis, you get those chances on a nightly basis you’re going to get more than one goal easily.”

9:37PM: First Period:

• Brian Campbell 7 (power play) (Assists: T.J. Brennan 1, Jonathan Huberdeau 8)

Second Period:

• Scottie Upshall 2 (Assists: Jack Skille 8, Shawn Matthias 3)

Third Period:

• Marian Gaborik 9 (Assists: Rick Nash 15, Michael Del Zotto 10)
• Tomas Kopecky 12 (empty net) (Unassisted)

Adam’s Thoughts:

• This was a game where the Rangers couldn’t score. For the most part they played well, they certainly had the puck in the offensive zone a lot and had chance after chance. Jakob Markstrom made some big saves and the Rangers didn’t find or create any bounces until Marian Gaborik scored.
• Gaborik was doing everything possible to get a goal and it was nice that he was rewarded for his first in eight games and his first not against the Islanders in seemingly forever.
• Florida blocked at least one shot from every player on the Rangers except for the fourth line of Darroll Powe, Taylor Pyatt and Jeff Halpern.
• In the end this is a tough loss for the Rangers against a team that is decimated and that they should beat. They had a bad start, woke up after the Panthers scored, but couldn’t score until very late in the third period. The effort was there, the execution and scoring was not and it’s a costly loss in a very tight race.

Team Notes:
-       The Rangers were defeated by the Florida Panthers, 3-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, to end their two-game winning streak. New York is now 4-2-0 in their last six home games.
-       The Blueshirts have posted a record of 15-13-2 (32 pts) overall, including a 10-6-1 mark at home this season.
-        The Rangers registered a season-high, 45 shots in the contest, led by Marian Gaborik’s season-high, eight shots on goal. The 45 shots on goal were the most by the Rangers since March 15, 2011, vs. the New York Islanders (6-3 win, 47 shots).
-        The Blueshirts won 33-62 faceoffs (53%), led by Brad Richards’ game-high, 12 faceoff wins (12-23, 52%). Brian Boyle won all 10 of his faceoff attempts.
Player Notes:
-        Marian Gaborik notched one goal and a game-high, eight shots on goal in 20:06 of ice time. He is now tied for second on the team with nine goals on the season.
-        Rick Nash tallied an assist and logged 19:37 of ice time, while skating in his 700th career NHL contest. He has now recorded a point in 12 of his last 16 games, registering eight goals and 10 assists over the span.
-        Michael Del Zotto recorded an assist and tied his season-high with six shots on goal in 22:43 of ice time. He has now registered three points (one goal, two assists) in the last two games.
-        Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves and is now 13-12-1 overall, including a 10-6-0 mark at home this season. He has held opponents to three goals or fewer in each of his last 11 games (6-5-0, 1.99 GAA, .929 Sv% over the span), and has held opponents to two or fewer goals in 16 games this season.
-        Ryan McDonagh registered a career-high, six shots on goal, and was credited with a team-high, three blocked shots in 25:26 of ice time.
-        Ryan Callahan tied his season-high with seven shots on goal and led all forwards with 24:53 of ice time.