Rangers vs. Panthers: Lineups, storylines in Jonathan Quick’s final NHL game

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Rangers vs. Panthers: Lineups, storylines in Jonathan Quick’s final NHL game

Jim Cerny · Forever Blueshirts

Mon, Apr 13, 2026 ·

5 min read

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The penultimate game of the 2025-26 season for the New York Rangers will be Jonathan Quick’s last in his storied NHL career. The 40-year-old goalie will start one final game Monday, when the Rangers visit the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.

Quick confirmed after the morning skate that he’s retiring, following 18 seasons in the NHL.

“With the ups and downs the season, you don’t really want to admit it to yourself, you know? So, as we kind of got towards the end of the season here, I let [general manager Chris Drury] know and ‘Sully’ (coach Mike Sullivan) know. Just so they can plan accordingly,” Quick explained to reporters . “I’m grateful for them. They’ve helped me out through this process. And let me know games I’m going to start so I can make sure to get the family there and stuff like that.”

Quick is the winningest United States-born goalie in NHL history, and ranks 12th on the all-time list , with 410 victories heading into his final start Monday. He’s a three-time Stanley Cup champion, including in 2014 when Quick led the Los Angeles Kings past the Rangers in five games of the best-of-7 Cup Final.

The Connecticut native and childhood Rangers fan joined the Blueshirts ahead of the 2023-24 season. He served as Igor Shesterkin’s backup for three season, and helped the Rangers win the Presidents’ Trophy that first season.

Quick got off to a strong start this season, even with little goal support from his teammates. But he struggled mightily when asked to take over the No. 1 role in January after Shesterkin sustained a lower-body injury . By time Shesterkin returned after the Olympic break in late-January, the Rangers were in last place, and traded star forward Artemi Panarin to the Kings to kickstart a retool.

The future Hall of Famer is 6-16-2 with a 3.09 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and two shutouts in 24 games (23 starts) this season. Quick won two of his past three starts, including a 32-save effort in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings nine days ago.

This will be Quick’s 19th career start against the Panthers. He’s 13-5-0 with a 2.51 GAA, .918 save percentage, and one shutout against them.

3 storylines when Rangers visit Panthers

NHL: Winter Classic-New York Rangers at Florida Panthers — Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

1. Looking to sweep the champs

The Rangers (33-38-9) haven’t had a lot to feel good about this season. But a season-series sweep against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the team that eliminated them in the 2024 Eastern Conference Final, would be a feel-good accomplishment.

They defeated the Panthers twice already this season, and outscored them 8-2. Perhaps their most impressive win of the entire season took place on Jan. 2, when they thoroughly outplayed the Panthers in a 5-1 victory outdoors at loanDepot Park in Miami for the 2026 NHL Winter Classic.

A 3-1 Rangers win at Madison Square Garden followed on March 29. Shesterkin stopped 62 of 64 shots in the two wins for a .969 save percentage. Mika Zibanejad memorably recorded the first hat trick in Winter Classic history and had the first five-point game in an NHL outdoor contest.

2. No three-peat for these guys

Of course, these Panthers don’t exactly resemble the team that won consecutive championships in 2024 and 2025, and reached the Stanley Cup Final three straight years. No, these Panthers were decimated by injuries this season. They enter Monday with a whopping 513 man-games lost to injury in 2025-26. That includes captain Aleksander Barkov , who missed the entire season after tearing up his knee during training camp.

In fact, the Panthers (38-38-4) may look unrecognizable Monday. They could have 13 regulars out of the lineup, including Cup stalwarts Brad Marchand , Sam Reinhart , Sam Bennett , Carter Verhaeghe , Anton Lundell , Aaron Ekblad , and Seth Jones .

The Panthers are only five points better than the Rangers, who are last in the Eastern Conference with 75 points. Per Tankathon , the Rangers have an 11.5 percent chance of winning the NHL Draft Lottery and selecting No. 1 overall this year; the Panthers have a 6.5 percent chance.

3. Try again for 20th road win

NHL: New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks — Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Coming off a 2-0 loss to the Stars in Dallas on Saturday, the Rangers get another chance to win their 20th road game this season. If they do win one more road contest — Monday, or Wednesday in Tampa against the Lightning — the Rangers will extend their streak of winning 20 road games to five consecutive seasons, a franchise record.

Despite missing the playoffs last season, the Rangers still won 20 times on the road. That followed seasons with 25 road victories (twice) and 24 wins on the road.