The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers faced off for the second time this season on Saturday night. The Rangers won the previous matchup 4-1 at Madison Square Garden back on December 1st, and the Flyers would be looking not just for revenge, but they were also in search of ending their six-game losing streak. It was not meant to be however, as the Rangers scored two quick goals in the third period to defeat Philadelphia 3-2 at Wells Fargo Center and extend the losing streak to seven.
FIRST PERIOD
The Rangers, who entered the game coming off an impressive 3-0 road win over San Jose on Thursday, began the game by applying plenty of pressure to Carter Hart and the Flyers early on. New York had their legs moving quickly and were pouncing on a Flyers defense that seemed sleepy at the start. The Rangers would get the game’s first power play at 5:08 after Claude Giroux was sent to the box for hooking against Kevin Rooney, and so the Flyers would be shorthanded. The Rangers passed the puck well and had their chances, and just 46 seconds into the man advantage, reigning Norris Trophy winner Adan Fox set up Mika Zibanejad for a one-timer that he blew by Hart from the left circle. Zibanejad’s 14th goal of the year made it 1-0 Rangers.
The Flyers were now playing catchup early in the going, and they still couldn’t piece things together as the period wore on. They couldn’t even get a shot on net until almost 11 minutes into the game. Luckily, they were able to turn the tides shortly after at 11:45. Scott Laughton shoveled the puck on net and Igor Shesterkin could not corral it, and Oskar Lindblom rushed to the doorstep and jammed it home to tie the game at 1-1 on his fifth goal of the season.
1-1 is how the period would end after a solid response by the Flyers and better defensive play as time wound down. The Rangers led in shots 8-6 and were the better team out of the gate, but the Flyers were back in the game and were looking more competitive.
SECOND PERIOD
There wasn’t as much action as the first period as the second period trickled on. The Rangers once again began to hold an edge over the Flyers offensively and Carter Hart came up big with timely saves against a stingy New York offensive attack. At 5:28, the Rangers would head back to the power play after former Ranger Kevin Hayes was whistled for tripping against Greg McKegg, and the Flyers penalty kill would be tasked with trying to stop the high-octane Rangers man-advantage again. This time, they succeeded and killed off Hayes’ minor with hard work and good defense.
Philadelphia would earn a power play of their own and their first of the game at 9:42 when K’Andre Miller was sent off for holding against Cam Atkinson, and the Flyers would try to make the Rangers pay and also try and get their power play in gear. Unfortunately, that was not to be and New York held the Flyers at bay.
There wasn’t much more action to speak of in the middle stanza, as the score remained at 1-1, but the Rangers did keep Hart busy, firing 12 more shots his way during the action. The Rangers led the overall shots battle 20-13 heading into the second intermission and seemed to be playing more with the confidence they displayed early in the first period.
THIRD PERIOD
As the final period of the evening unfolded, each team traded shots, but to no avail. The Flyers actually began to take over play as the period went on, and with 9:49 to play, they got a big boost from Cam York.
After a great effort by Zack MacEwen and a failed clear by Adam Fox, the 2019 first-round pick of the Flyers slapped home a bullet that beat Shesterkin for his first NHL goal and gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
The celebration would be short-lived, however. New York entered the zone and pulled off some nifty passing against poor defensive coverage and Filip Chytil was the recipient of a tap-in goal just 37 seconds after York’s goal. The game was now tied at 2-2 and all the life had been seemingly sucked out of Wells Fargo Center.
New York wasn’t done chipping away yet, and eventually they took the lead with 6:30 to play thanks to Chris Kreider. Fox wristed a shot towards the goal and Kreider redirected the puck past Hart, and the Rangers led 3-2 on two third period goals separated by 2:42.
The Flyers tried their best to combat their deficit, but they couldn’t tie things up and that’s how the game would end. Philadelphia lost a 3-2 heartbreaker against a very good Rangers team in a game where they seemingly had a better third period but wilted at inopportune moments, and it cost them in the end.
3 STARS: 1) Chris Kreider – NYR, 2) Cam York – PHI, 3) Adam Fox – NYR
UP NEXT…
The Flyers will travel to UBS Arena in Elmont, New York on Monday night for the first time to take on the New York Islanders in another divisional showdown. The Islanders are coming off a 2-0 home loss to Washington on Saturday.
