Rangers vs. Flyers: Rangers Trade Chances With Flyers But Fall in Overtime

The New York Rangers went goal for goal with the Philadelphia Flyers this evening, but were unable to collect the extra point in the overtime period. New York was shorthanded this evening after Pavel Buchnevich and Adam Fox were added to the protocol list, and were forced to sit out of tonight’s game. Keith Kinkaid picked up his second start for the Rangers, and despite a pretty rough start, the Rangers were able to pick up him on the other end of the ice.

1st Period

James van Riemsdyk (13) - Joel Farabee (12) & Sean Couturier (13) - 3:47

Philadelphia was able to strike early against a shorthanded Rangers squad and jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 3:47 into the game. The Flyers were able to catch the Rangers in transition through the neutral zone, and Joel Farabee broke into the offensive zone with a 2-on-1 opportunity. James van Riemsdyk was able to bury the crisp pass from Farabee, and slipped the puck under Keith Kinkaid through the five-hole.

Ivan Provorov (4) - Sean Couturier (14) - 5:05

A little over a minute later, the Flyers struck again as Ivan Provorov converted on a chance and picked up his fourth goal of the season. Following a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Ivan Provorov was able to step around the oncoming forward and tossed a shot on goal. The shot itself was from a relatively odd angle, and somehow eluded Keith Kinkaid’s left leg pad as he stretched out to make the save.

2nd Period

Artemiy Panarin (6) - Tarmo Reunanen (1) & Ryan Strome (10) - 8:12

With the Rangers trailing by a pair of goals just five minutes into the game, Artemiy Panarin brought New York back into the game. Tarmo Reunanen, who was making his NHL debut tonight, setup the entire play with a beautiful cross-ice feed through the middle of the ice. The pass landed right on Panarin’s tape off to the left of the net and he wired a one-timer under Carter Hart to make it a 2-1 game.

Colin Blackwell (6) -  Artemiy Panarin (15) & Brendan Smith (3) - 10:52

New York continued to push the pace after picking up their first goal, and their persistence eventually led to the tying goal just past the halfway mark. Artemiy Panarin was apart of the action yet again as received a quick breakout pass from Brendan Smith, and broke in on a 2-on-1 rush. Colin Blackwell was able to catch up to the play, opened up his body for a shot, and wired slap shot past Carter Hart to tie up the game.

Julien Gauthier (2) - Filip Chytil (4) & Artemiy Panarin (16) - 15:16

After getting back even on the scoreboard, the Rangers’ offense continued to roll as they found opportunities in behind the Flyers defense. Once again, New York beat the Flyers in transition through the neutral zone, and that led to Julien Gauthier streaking down the right side of the ice. Gauthier was able to fly around Erik Gustafsson, made a finesse move to his backhand, and shelfed the puck over Carter Hart as he sprawled out to make the save. It was just an incredible goal by the 23-year old and he gave the Rangers their first lead of the evening.

Joel Farabee (12) - Claude Giroux (15) & Jakub Voracek (16) - 18:36

New York’s lead would be pretty short-lived as Philadelphia would tie up the game after Julien Gauthier was sent off for minor penalty. The Rangers did a great job of killing off the first half of the penalty, but the Flyers were able to take strike on the back half of the man-advantage. Joel Farabee was able to slip down from the left point spot, and Claude Giroux hit him with a perfect pass inside the faceoff circle. Farabee’s shot wound up beating Keith Kinkaid over the shoulder, and we went back to being deadlocked at 3-3.

3rd Period

Kevin Rooney (5) - Brendan Lemieux (4) & Brett Howden (3) - 2:56

The Rangers’ speed game continued to be a factor in the third period as they were able to skate past the Flyers in the neutral zone. Their puck retrieval in the corner created the entire chance after Brendan Lemieux corralled the loose puck, and quickly found Kevin Rooney stepped into a shooting lane. Rooney’s one-time chance sailed right over the shoulder of Carter Hart, and New York regained their one-goal lead early in the third period.

Claude Giroux (6) - Jakub Voracek (17) & Ivan Provorov (10) - 5:33

Philadelphia had another power play chance shortly after the Rangers regained the lead, and they took advantage under 30 seconds in. The Flyers clearly ran a set play as Claude Giroux rotated around the back of the net, and as soon as he opened up on the left post, Jakub Vorecek hit him with a crisp pass. The pass was so perfect that Giroux didn’t even need to shoot, and it deflected in as he was in the process of rotating to the front of the net.

Overtime

Jakub Voracek (4) - Unassisted - 3:47

This game would need to be decided in overtime, and despite controlling most of the period, the Rangers threw the game away on a misplay. Keith Kinkaid attempted to keep the play alive with a quick outlet pass, but Artemiy Panarin was near the end of his shift. Panarin attempted to chip the puck pass an oncoming Voracek, but failed to do so. Voracek was able to pick off the pass, broke in all alone on a breakaway, and tucked the puck into the yawning net.

The silver lining tonight was that despite missing two key pieces in the lineup, the Rangers were still able to generate a boatload of chances in the offensive zone. It was a tough break seeing the Rangers control most of the overtime, only for it to be thrown away on an unfortunate break. Following tonight’s tough loss in overtime, the Rangers will have their rematch on Wednesday as they close out their two-game set against the Philadelphia Flyers.