Rangers Defeat Flyers in New York, Again

Rangers score 4 goals on 20 shots

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the New York Rangers 4-2 tonight.

The Rangers have extended their winning streak as they have now beaten the Flyers in 6 straight games on their home ice in Madison Square Garden.

New York and Philadelphia started the 3rd period knotted at 2 apiece, but when it mattered the most the Rangers played better hockey.

Head coach Peter Laviolette summed up the game perfectly afterwards telling CSNPhilly, "We shot ourselves in the foot too many times. There weren't a lot of chances both ways. We made more mistakes than they did. And that's why they won the game."

The Flyers also lost key defenseman Nicklas Grossmann in the game. Grossmann, who leads the NHL in blocked shots, left the game after the 1st period with what was reported by FOX29 as a groin injury. Grossmann did not return and will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the severity.

Voracek and Simmonds both scoring 10th goal tonight

The 1st period saw an uncharacteristic 4 goals scored in what normally are low scoring affairs with the Rangers. There were more goals scored in the 1st period of tonight's game than there were in both of their previous 2 meetings (both were 2-1 games). The first 3 of those 4 goals were on the PowerPlay.

Ryan Callahan got the scoring started for the Rangers just a minute an a half into the game on their first PowerPlay. Callahan scored on a nice east to west set up.

The Flyers then responded with a PowerPlay goal of their own when Claude Giroux set up Wayne Simmonds in front for the tap in goal past Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

Again on the PowerPlay, later in the period, Philadelphia capitalized for the second time. Simmonds found Jake Voracek wide open in the circle and Voracek made Rangers pay on the rebound after Lundqvist stopped the initial shot giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

The lead was short lived for the Flyers as just over 2 minutes later with 40 seconds to go in the period, Callahan continued his strong play against the Flyers as he made a nice individual play to move around Luke Schenn and then beat Ilya Bryzgalov, who has had better games. Bryzgalov made 16 saves on 20 shots tonight.

Nash puts nail in coffin

The 2nd period was a more familiar one. Both teams combined for a total of 12 shots and no goals setting up for a tight final stanza.

However, the Rangers capitalized early. Rick Nash skated in on a 3 on 2 and beat Bryzgalov to the low blocker side giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead; a lead that they would never lose.

Nash would strike again later in the period taking advantage of a slow line change by Philadelphia, leading to a breakaway goal putting the nail in the coffin.

After the game, Claude Giroux told CSNPhilly, "We need to find a way to win those 3rd period games." And when asked how important the next game is, Giroux stressed urgency, "All our games are big. The next game is the biggest game of the season. After that we have to move on, and the next one will be the biggest game of the season."

And the next game of the season will be against the division leading Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Flyers fall to 11-12-1 on the season, 9th place in the East.

Game Notes:

• Ryan Callahan has scored 3 goals in 3 games against the Flyers this season. In 15 games against the rest of the league, Callahan only has 4 goals.
• Rangers defenseman Marc Staal left the game after getting hit in the face with the puck. Staal appeared to be in a lot of pain as he left the ice. He did not return.
• In the last 11 games versus the Rangers, this is the 10th time the Flyers failed to score more than 2 goals.
• Luke Schenn led the game in hits with 5.
• Tonight's game marked the halfway point in the season. When asked by CSNPhilly about how he thought the Flyers fared in the first half, Ilya Bryzgalov simply replied, "Not good...not good."

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers get back into action on Thursday when they host their cross state rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins.