Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - Olli Jokinen scored the game-winning goal in the third period, as the Florida Panthers continued their playoff push with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at BankAtlantic Center.

Jassen Cullimore had a goal and an assist while Rostislav Olesz added a goal for the red-hot Panthers, who are on a season-high six-game winning streak.

Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves in the win for Florida, which now has 76 points and trails idle Philadelphia by just three points for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Dan Girardi and Scott Gomez each scored a goal for the Rangers, who dropped a game in regulation for the first time since a 4-1 loss at home against Anaheim on February 7, a span of 13 games. New York had gone 10-0-3 in those 13 contests.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots for New York, which sits in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with 83 points, three better than idle Boston.

With the game tied in the third, Florida took a 3-2 lead on a power-play goal after Martin Straka got called for hooking. Steve Montador blasted a shot from the right point that Lundqvist saved, but he couldn't cover up the rebound and Jokinen dug the puck out and slammed it home at the 7:12 mark.

Christian Backman had a chance to tie the game when he was all alone with the puck near the left circle, but his slap shot went high with around seven minutes to play.

New York had a power play chance later in the frame after Stephen Weiss was called for tripping, but Fedor Tyutin got called for interference 13 seconds later to kill the advantage.

The Rangers were given another power play chance after a hooking call on Brett McLean with 2:06 to play.

New York pulled Lundqvist with over a minute to play to create a 6-on-4 advantage. The best chance came with under 30 seconds to play as Chris Drury found himself wide open with the puck in the slot and traffic all over the net, but Vokoun came up with a stop on the wrister and the Panthers held on for the win.

"We did everything we wanted to do, and give (Panthers goalie Tomas) Vokoun credit, and their defense," Gomez said. "They played it great. There's nothing you can say about it. We got good looks but it didn't go in."

The Panthers drew first blood in the contest with 7:11 left in the first period. McLean was facing the left corner boards and threw a blind pass to the front where Olesz one-timed the puck past Lundqvist.

New York, though, tied the game at the 15:15 mark of the first. Hard work along the left boards resulted in the puck squirting out to the left circle. Brandon Dubinsky grabbed it and fired the puck to Girardi, who blasted a shot from the high slot through traffic for his ninth goal of the season.

The Rangers started the second period with a 5-on-3 advantage and used it to take the lead. A heavy one-timer from Brendan Shanahan in the high slot was saved by Vokoun, but the rebound went right to Gomez, who slammed it home just 28 seconds into the frame.

Florida, though, put a ton of pressure on the New York end later in the second period and it eventually paid off. Working the puck around the zone, it eventually got to the left circle where Cullimore blasted a shot through traffic for his third goal of the year with 8:18 left in the frame.

"I think our best games are still ahead," Jokinen said. "We keep getting better. We're a confident group right now. But the bottom line is we can't get too high. The next game is even bigger than this one."