Florida Panthers at New York Rangers
Game 1 – 8:00 PM EST
REFEREES |
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Steve Kozari #40 |
Dan O’Rourke #9 |
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| Games ’23-24 (RS/PO) | 66 / 10 | 64 / 9 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 1218 / 156 | 1447 / 206 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 10/15/05 | 10/2/99 | ||||
| Birthplace | Penticton, BC | Calgary, AB | ||||
| Goals/Gm | 6.2 (20) | 6.0 (35) | ||||
| PP Opp/Gm | 6.3 (12) | 6.1 (22) | ||||
| PPG/Gm | 1.1 (38) | 1.2 (32) | ||||
| Penl/Gm | 7.7 (17) | 8.3 (9) | ||||
| PIM/Gm | 18.3 (26) | 20.3 (9) | ||||
| % of Penl on Home | 49.2% (25) | 50.4% (14) | ||||
| % PP Opp for Home | 52.0% (21) | 51.0% (29) | ||||
| Penl Diff.* | 1.3 (22) | 1.5 (7) | ||||
| Home Win % | 52% (36) | 74% (3) | ||||
| Home Rec. | 30-27-10 | 45-14-6 | ||||
| OT/SO Games | 17.9% (29) | 24.6% (8) | ||||
| Team Records | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 |
| FLA | 2-0-0 | 3-2-1 | 4-1 | 4-0-1 | 5-0-0 | 3-2 |
| NYR | 3-1-0 | 4-2-1 | 3-2 | 2-1-0 | 0-2-3 | 5-2 |
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Steve Barton #59 |
Matt MacPherson #83 |
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| Games ’23-24 (RS/PO) | 69 / 9 | 72 / 9 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 1533 / 162 | 887 / 115 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 11/1/00 | 10/11/11 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/11/07 | 4/17/14 | ||||
| Birthplace | Vankleek Hill, ON | Antigonish, NS | ||||
Referee Steve Kozari has worked most of the postseason alongside Kyle Rehman. In round 1, the duo handled NSH/VAN Game 1, COL/WPG Game 2, NYR/WSH Game 4 (NYR W 4-2 – series clincher), and TOR/BOS Game 5. Kozari also worked DAL/VGK Game 6 alongside referee Francois St. Laurent.
The second round saw Kozari and Rehman take the ice for CAR/NYR Game 1 (NYR W 4-3), EDM/VAN Game 1, DAL/COL Game 3, and BOS/FLA Game 5 (FLA L 2-1). Kozari was also paired up with Francis Charron for NYR/CAR Game 6 (NYR W 5-3 – series clincher).
The Rangers are 3-0 this postseason under Kozari, including both series-winning games. Florida is 0-1.
Referee Dan O’Rourke skated alongside Tom Chmielewski in the opening round, working VGK/DAL Game 1, LAK/EDM Game 2, and WPG/COL Game 3. He was then paired up with Chris Rooney for BOS/TOR Game 6 and with Wes McCauley for VGK/DAL Game 7.
O’Rourke worked Round 2 with Francois St. Laurent, officiating COL/DAL Game 1, FLA/BOS Game 2 (FLA W 6-1), CAR/NYR Game 5 (NYR L 4-1), and EDM/VAN Game 5.
Florida is 10-0-1 in their last 10 under O’Rourke, including playoffs. The Rangers are 0-1 in the playoffs when O’Rourke is working; the Panthers are 1-0.
Stats have been updated through the end of the 2023-24 regular season.
Games: PS (Preseason); RS (Regular Season); PO (Playoffs)
Number in orange/parentheses indicated referee’s rank among active officials.
* Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2. Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
NHL Officials For 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals
We’ve got new rules, new refs, promoted refs, and an updated pronunciation guide for 2023-24.
Here is the NHL’s officating roster for the 2023-24 season:
