After a brutal 7-2 defeat at the hands of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, the Flyers came away with a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Most of it wasn't pretty, but the team got the job done. Philadelphia's goal scorers were Vincent Lecavalier, Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, and Luke Schenn. Chris Kreider and Derick Brassard scored for New York. Steve Mason made some huge saves in net, 32 of 34, and Henrik Lundqvist made 27 of 31 saves for the Rangers.
Vincent Lecavalier opened up scoring just over seven minutes into the first period, an odd deflection of a goal that was originally credited to Brayden Schenn, but changed to Lecavalier after the first period, and assisted by Wayne Simmonds and Mark Streit. Around a minute later, Sean Couturier made a hell of a deke to catch Henrik Lundqvist off guard and get one past him. His goal was assisted by Matt Read and Kimmo Timonen. The first period ended with – not at all surprisingly – some pushing and shoving, the Rangers leading the Flyers in shots, 12-10, and, most importantly, the Flyers leading the Blueshirts in goals, 2-0.
The Rangers carried the momentum through late in the first period and into the second, and it seemed as if the Rangers had cut the Flyers’ lead in half early on in the second period. After review, though, the goal was called off because it was scored off of a high stick. Chris Kreider scored at 4:59 to put the Rangers on the board, with assists from Rick Nash and Derek Stepan.
The wind seemed to have left the Flyers’ sails as the second period progressed, and their efforts weren’t helped by taking several penalties. The Rangers tied it up with a goal from Derick Brassard at 11:42, but the Flyers quickly regained the lead on a power play shot from Wayne Simmonds. And somehow, after a sleepy, messy, and often nerve-wracking second period, the Flyers managed to hold onto the 3-2 lead. It’s important to note that the Rangers had a ton of chances in front of the Flyers net, and 13 shots to Philadelphia’s seven, but were unable to capitalize. Had they been able to do so, this might’ve been a repeat of the San Jose beatdown.
Philadelphia went on the power play early in the third period thanks to a slashing call, and Steve Downie appeared to score, but the goal was called off – the second waved-off goal of the game. Apparently, because the ref had his whistle in his mouth, the goal didn’t count, but the whistle never blew. Ah, well. Maybe next time.
With just under four minutes to go in the afternoon's game, Luke Schenn scored his fourth goal of the season to give the Flyers a two-goal lead, one that the team was able to hold onto until the end of the game. The Flyers lead their season series against New York now 2-1 with one more game between the two teams to go.
Matchups between the Flyers and Rangers are always entertaining, and today’s game was no exception. The physicality that Philadelphia was sorely lacking against San Jose on Thursday returned, to some extent, as proven by several pileups and scrums throughout the game and several boarding calls on both teams. But in the end, it was the Flyers who prevailed, getting their March off to a good start.
Penalties:
Scott Hartnell, boarding (1:57, 1st)
Scott Hartnell, tripping (4:05, 1st)
Derek Stepan, boarding (17:40, 1st)
Zac Rinaldo, unsportsmanlike conduct (6:32, 2nd)
Dan Carcillo, unsportsmanlike conduct (6:32, 2nd)
Zad Rinaldo, 10-minute misconduct (8:37, 2nd)
Dan Carcillo, 10-minute misconduct (8:37, 2nd)
Kimmo Timonen, hooking (10:17, 2nd)
Derick Brassard, slashing (2:19, 3rd)
Derick Brassard, tripping (12:22, 3rd)
Notes: This was Kimmo Timonen’s 500th game with the Flyers… Wayne Simmonds scored his 19th goal of the season, now tying him with Claude Giroux for the team lead… Matt Read picked up his 100th career goal with the assist on Couturier’s goal… Scouts from Calgary, Edmonton, and Tampa Bay were in attendance this afternoon, just a few days away from the trade deadline…. Flyers return to action on Sunday afternoon with a 12pm matchup against the Washington Capitals, the first of a home & home series between the two teams. The Caps lead the Flyers in their season series 2-1.
