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Wrap: Flyers Beat Rangers, 5-3 |
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Wrap: Flyers Beat Blueshirts, 5-3
In a game that saw a combined 11 power plays and 40 combined high-danger scoring chances, the Philadelphia Flyers led most of the way in earning a 5-3 road victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams scored three power play goals, but Philly had an overall 4-3 special teams goal advantage because they also scored a shorthanded goal. Overall, the Rangers were 3-for-6 on the power play, while the Flyers went 3-for-5.
With the win, the Flyers at least temporarily moved to within one point of the division-leading Washington Capitals pending the outcome of the Capitals road game on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. Philly opened a three-point lead over third-place Pittsburgh, who lost 5-0 in San Jose on Saturday and were idle on Sunday.
Special teams goals by Matt Niskanen (8th goal of the season, power play), Sean Couturier (21st, power play) and Michael Raffl (7th, shorthanded) built a 3-0 lead for the Flyers in the first period. Derek Grant (1st as a Flyer, 15th of the season) and Travis Konecny (23rd, power play) sandwiched goals around a Mika Zibanejad (31st, power play) tally as the Flyers took a 5-1 edge to the third period. Third period goals by Pavel Buchnenich (15th, power play) and Zibanejad (32nd, power play) cut the final margin to 5-3.
Carter Hart earned the win on goal. He was outstanding in making 23 saves on 26 shots. Starting for the first time since Feb. 3, Henrik Lundqvist took the loss, stopping 21 of 26 shots.
The Rangers had the game's first scoring chance but Philly had the first power play and turned it into a 1-0 lead at 1:52. Good work by Nicolas Aube-Kubel to poke a loose puck in front across to Niskanen resulted in a goal for the veteran with Lundqvist down and out. The Flyers narrowly survived their own first penalty kill of the game.
At 11:19 of the first period, precision power play puck movement from Travis Konecny to Jakub Voracek and a Voracek shoot looking for rebound produced a loose puck that went right to Couturier in the near center slot.
The Rangers threatened again early on their second power play. Then a hit by Raffl at the defensive blueline created a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Derek Grant and Raffl made no mistake as he fired the puck past Lundqvist at 17:53.
Offensively, the Flyers were precise with their passes in the first period. They skated well, including a burst of speed by Aube-Kubel on a counterattack chance. Pucks were put to the net with teammates attacking the slot, and it paid dividends.
Defensively, the first period left a bit to be desired for the Flyers. Hart stepped up big repeatedly, including a breakaway save on Mika Zibanejad and a point blank pad stop on Kaapo Kakko. Shots in the period were 13-9 Flyers. Attempts were 19-17 in the Rangers favor. High-danger chances for both sides were frequent, with an overall 8-7 Flyers edge.
There was a carryover effect from the Raffl shortie in the second period. The Flyers dominated the frame against a seemingly demoralized Rangers team. Tyler Pitlick won a race to the puck in the neutral zone and Grant got Lundqvist to bite on a deke-and-dangle play before depositing the puck in the net at 1:23 of the second period.
From there, the only downside to the middle period was a couple careless stick infractions by Philly. A Nate Thompson high stick penalty turned into a nicely executed deflection goal Zibanejad off a setup by Artemi Panarin at 12:34.
Philly got the goal right back on their fourth power play as they gained control off the first draw. Voracek racked up his sixth assist in the last two games as he sent the puck to the net past a poorly positioned Jacob Trouba. Konecny tipped it upstairs at 15:34. Voracek earned his 40th assist of the season on the play, and sixth in the last two games. Ivan Provorov got the secondary assist.
Second period shots were 7-5 Flyers (20-14 Flyers through 40 minutes). Attempts were 17-16 Rangers (36-33 Rangers overall). High fanger scoring chances were 8-4 Flyers (16-11 Flyers overall).
The third period was not a very good one for the Flyers. They helped open the door a crack for the Rangers, and Hart was under siege in having to make 10 saves in the final stanza. The Flyers goalie had no chance of stopping either of two New York power play goals in the third.
The Rangers moved the puck well on their power plays throughout the game. They struck for a second power play marker as Buchnevich scored a deflection goal at 5:33 of the third period. Later, the Flyers paid for a failed clear as Zibanejad went upstais on the backhand at 12:39 as New York scored its third power play goal.
Philly's closeout wasn't nearly as emphatic as most of their recent ones, but they came up with some key blocks (one by Niskanen loomed big) and Hart was outstanding. Final shot attempts were 59-41 New York. Final high danger chances were 22-18 in the Rangers' favor.
The Flyers will likely have an off-day on Monday. On Tuesday, they'll return to practice in Voorhees to get ready for a crucial back-to-back set in Washington on Wednesday and at home against Carolina the next night.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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