The Philadelphia Flyers were unable to extend their winning streak to 4 games or their point streak to 7 games after they were dispatched in the Big Apple by a score of 6-1.
The Flyers opened the scoring less than 2 minutes into the game courtesy of Owen Tippett but it was all New York after the fact – at least on the scoreboard.
They received goals from Braden Schneider and Adam Edström in the first period, K’Andre Miller in the second, and Filip Chytil, Adam Fox, and Reilly Smith in the third.
Samuel Ersson’s 5-game winning streak was snapped and although he allowed 5 goals on 37 shots, a lot of them were not necessarily his fault. Igor Shesterkin was as good as he usually is against the Flyers with a 35-save performance.
Riding one of their best stretches of the season, the sizzling Flyers faced off against the Rangers for the second time this season with a lot on the line in regard to the playoff Wild Card race.
With Ryan Poehling (injured reserve) and Scott Laughton (personal) out of the lineup and Olle Lycksell having been sent down to the minors, the Flyers rolled out with Rodrigo Ābols once again and the recently called-up Anthony Richard – both of whom were skating on the fourth line with Garnet Hathaway.
Otherwise the lineup remained intact as Samuel Ersson earned his 4th straight start as he looked to rattle off a personal 6-game winning streak. He’s allowed just 8 goals in that span to go along with a .930 SV% and entered the game having gone 7-1-0 over his last 8 games with an even better .935 SV%.
As for the Rangers, things were slightly different since they last faced off against the Flyers in late November. They’ve gone 11-11-3 since then but have rattled off 9 straight games with a point (6-0-3) after going 3-10-0.
Igor Shesterkin earned the start as he looked to improve on his career record against the Flyers. Artemi Panarin continued to pace the club with 20 goals and 49 points, which was followed up by Adam Fox’s 38 points and Vincent Trocheck’s 14 goals and 30 points.
FIRST PERIOD
The Philadelphia Flyers opened the scoring just 1:25 into the game after Owen Tippett got a piece of a centering pass from Travis Konecny with his skate to close their odd-man rush. Samuel Ersson made a key stop on New York’s odd man rush, which jumpstarted the Flyers’ 3-on-1 chance that was encapsulated by some quick passing plays before Tippett’s bee-line to the net paid off for his 14th of the season.
The Flyers then jumped onto the game’s first power play after Ryan Lindgren was called for a cross-checking minor against Noah Cates at the 4:47 mark. It was short lived after Bobby Brink was nailed with an interference minor 1:30 into the man advantage but not before the New York Rangers wrangled off a 2-on-1 at the onset that was handedly dealt with by Ersson.
He was tested again after the Rangers jumped on an abbreviated breakaway with Lindgren’s minor expiring but he made a huge blocker save. Unfortunately they finally solved Ersson at the 9:00 mark with Braden Schneider dancing his way through the defense before sending a pass to Reilly Smith in the blue paint with Ersson out of his crease. The defenseman was credited with the goal after it went off of Egor Zamula’s stick and into the net.
The Rangers then took the lead after the Flyers failed to clear the puck out of the zone. Lindgren’s unbalanced point shot went through a maze of bodies before it was eventually deflected by Adam Edström. Ersson virtually had no chance with 6 bodies in front of him as the 6’7” forward got his stick on the point shot at the 10:24 mark.
After a good start to the period, the Rangers took control near the end, which included a lot of broken plays in the Flyers zone that came about from failed clearances and defensive miscues. New York headed into the intermission with a 2-1 lead and 15-11 edge in shots.
SECOND PERIOD
The Rangers doubled their lead 4;44 into the middle frame after K’Andre Miller wired a shot from the point with Trocheck and Travis Sanheim battling hard in front of Ersson. Moments before, Cates rang one off the post but the Rangers were able to quell any chances of the Flyers regaining momentum with Miller’s 3rd of the season.
After consecutive lengthy but strong shifts from the third and fourth lines, the Flyers jumped onto their second power play of the night with 7:25 remaining in the period after Artemi Panrin was called for a hooking minor. Unfortunately, the Flyers failed to generate a shot on goal or much of anything against the 4th ranked penalty killing unit of the Rangers.
The period came to a close with the Rangers scoring the only goal doubling their lead heading into the final frame. The Flyers did have the edge in shots through 40 minutes (28-24) after they fired 19 towards Shesterkin in the second.
THIRD PERIOD
The Rangers extended their lead to 3 after Filip Chytil deflected a seemingly harmless shot from the point from Adam Fox with 14:41 remaining. With Cam York all over him, Chytil was able to somehow get his stick on the puck with Ersson moving the opposite way.
The Flyers received their third power play of the night with 4;32 remaining after Panarin was hit for an interference minor. Even with the extra skater once Ersson was pulled, the Flyers failed to generate anything overtly dangerous and the Rangers came close to icing the game a few times before Adam Fox finally hit the empty net with 3:07 left to play.
The Rangers then made it 6-1 after they notched a power play goal with Cates in the box for slashing. Smith finally buried one after he found the loose change behind the unaware Ersson after a point shot from Alexis Lafreniere.
UP NEXT
The Flyers visit the New York Islanders on Friday for the second time in a week (7:30pm; NBCSP+).
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