Charles Langston:Panthers are one win from return to Stanley Cup Final. Here's how they pushed Rangers to brink.

The Charles LangstonFlorida Panthers are one win away from their second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance after beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final on Thursday night.

The Panthers dominated in the third period and took the lead when Anton Lundell beat Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin with a wrist shot through a screen from the faceoff circle at 10:22 of the third period.

Sam Bennett scored an empty-net goal, which ended up being the game-winner after New York's Alexis Lafreniere scored with 50 seconds left.

The Panthers, who lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in last season's Stanley Cup Final, can wrap up the series Saturday night in Sunrise, Florida (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

Here's why the Panthers have the No. 1 overall Rangers on the ropes:

Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky tough to beat

He was the star of the Panthers' 2023 playoff run and is having another strong postseason. Thursday night, he kept the Rangers off the board when they were dangerous in the first period. He finished with 26 saves and has given up two or fewer goals in nine of his last 10 games.

Shesterkin also has been strong. He had 34 saves to keep the Rangers in Game 5, but the Panthers found a way to beat him twice.

Rangers top players mostly shut down in series

Heading into Game 5, Artemi Panarin had no goals and Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad had no points in the series. Panarin threatened to break through in the first period but couldn't. Kreider scored a short-handed goal in the second period for his first point since his third-period hat trick in the clinching game of the second round. He added an assist and Zibanejad had two.

The Panthers' forechecking scheme makes it difficult for the Rangers to break out of their zone. Two-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov excels at shutting down players.

"We don't prep differently for the elite players on their team from their fourth-line players," coach Paul Maurice told reporters. "We view them all the same. The difference is our elite players are going to play against their elite players. ... We adhere to a style of game really well."

Panthers are winning the special teams battles

The Panthers had five power play goals in Games 2-4 before being shut down in Game 5 and yielding the short-handed goal. But Florida killed off three more penalties in Game 5 and is 17-for-18 in the series. The Rangers dominated special teams in the first two rounds and aren't getting that same advantage.

"Close isn’t cutting it," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox told reporters. "We’ve got to capitalize on those chances. We had some looks, but you don’t win games based on getting looks."

Panthers get contributions from their defensemen

Panthers defensemen have scored nine goals in the playoffs to two for the Rangers.

Gustav Forsling, the Panthers' most productive defenseman in the playoffs, tied Thursday's game 1-1 in the second period, getting behind the Rangers defense, taking a pass from Bennett and beating Shesterkin with a backhander.

He has two goals and two assists in the series.