New York's Ryan Callahan, left, checks Florida's Seidenberg during the second period of Saturday's game. New York's Ryan Callahan, left, checks Florida's Seidenberg during the second period of Saturday's game. (Bill Kostroun/Associated Press)

Nathan Horton, Jordan Leopold and Steven Reinprecht scored goals and Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves as the streaking Florida Panthers beat the slumping New York Rangers 3-2 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik scored for the Rangers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

These teams are going in opposite directions. After a slow start, the Panthers have won eight of 11 (8-2-1). The Panthers won for the second time in two nights, following up on a 2-1 overtime victory at Detroit on Friday.

The Panthers showed no signs of fatigue Saturday, playing an up-tempo game from the start.

"We started off well," Horton said. "That's how we wanted to come out. I think we kind of surprised them with the way we were ready to play."

The Rangers, 7-1 to open the season, dropped their third straight at home.

John Tortorella, the Rangers' sometimes fiery coach, took the latest loss calmly.

"You just keep trying to battle through this." Tortorella said.

"I wish I could tell you how to get out of it. The only way I know is for the team to stay together. We have to have a little bit of resiliency. It is a miserable time, but you have to come to work and fight your way through."

The Panthers appeared to put the game away when Horton, polishing off a 2-on-1 break with Stephen Weiss, gave Florida a 3-1 lead 2:35 into the third period.

"We're feeling confident," Horton said. "This was a big road trip against really good teams. It's nice to get all three wins, but we're not out of the woods yet. It's only a start."

Panthers forward Radek Dvorak agrees. "Knowing we have a chance to win every hockey game gives you confidence," he said.

"We've been playing good lately, and that's why we have a lot of energy."

As they have all season, the Rangers got a needed lift from Gaborik. The star forward scored his team-leading 16th goal at 6:01 to cut the deficit back to one goal.

Gaborik scored from the right circle at the end of a three-way passing play with defenceman Michal Rozsival and Prospal. It was his fifth goal in six games.

Gaborik's goal energized the Rangers as they pressed for the equalizer. Vokoun held firm, making a diving pad stop on Sean Avery with two minutes left and denying Gaborik's stuff try with one minute remaining.

Reinprecht and Leopold scored second-period goals as the Panthers took a 2-1 lead.

Reinprecht pulled Florida even at 8:48 with a hard backhander from the slot.

The Panthers then took the lead on a strange goal at 11:09.

Defenceman Kenndal McArdle, fighting to control the puck at the right point, chopped it toward the Rangers' net. The puck popped in the air with Leopold taking a swipe at it. He got the goal after a video review determined that the shot was not directed in by a high stick.

"I just lost it," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "Guys were waving their sticks, and it just bounced in front of me."

Prospal scored the only goal of the opening period with an unassisted tally at 14:11. Prospal intercepted a Florida attempt in the neutral zone and curled into the Panthers' zone to fire a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot that dribbled past Vokoun's left pad.

Lundqvist had a busy first period, making 12 saves. His best moment was a diving stop on Horton as he tried to finish a 2-on-1, give-and-go break with Michael Frolik. Lundqvist also caught a break when Reinprecht rang a power-play drive off the post.