Recap: Rangers Top Line Shines in 6-2 Win Over Flyers

In their final meeting of the regular season, the New York Rangers kicked off the front half of a back-to-back on the road to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Their second outing following the trade deadline, the Rangers looked to continue to make progress as they enter this retooling phase.

The Rangers would make two notable changes to their lineup with Jonny Brodzinski re-entering the mix as Taylor Raddysh will miss the next few games having just experienced the loss of his father. Our condolences to the entire Raddysh family during this difficult time.  

Additionally, Urho Vaakanainen would slot in on the third pair in place of Vincent Iorio. Although as the game went on, Robertson would move to the left side of Braden Schneider, leaving Vaakanainen with Will Borgen so everyone

First Period

The Rangers have had a bad habit of allowing an early goal all season long but tonight, it was them striking first. A great shift from the third line cycled the puck down low to set up a shot at the point from Matthew Robertson. Noah Laba was planted in front of the net and right there to put the rebound home, making it a 1-0 game just 64 seconds in.

Right from the jump, the Rangers were playing well and generating some great chances, specifically the top line. With seven minutes to go, a couple of big hits from some unlikely suspects in Adam Fox and Gabe Perreault created a scoring chance for Mika Zibanejad. An effective hit from Perreault allowed Alexis Lafrenière to pick up the loose puck and find Zibanejad open in the slot to extend their lead 2-0. Great shift from the top line that has truly been clicking as of late. 

A minute and a half after the second goal, the Rangers got the game’s first power play as Trevor Zegras was sent off for holding. They gave the Flyers a golden opportunity for a shorthanded goal as Christian Dvorak ended up on a breakaway early in the advantage but Igor Shesterkin was able to come up with a big save. The Rangers wouldn’t convert and the second the power play ended, Vladislav Gavrikov was called for cross-checking, sending the Flyers to the man advantage. 

The Rangers held the Flyers off and with 26 seconds to go, it would turn into a 4-on-4 as Alex Bump (former teammate of Rangers prospect Ty Henricks) was sent off for high sticking in just his second NHL game. As the Rangers returned to the power play, Lafrenière was set up by Zibanejad for a one timer in the slot that he absolutely ripped off the post and in to extend the lead, 3-0. 

Surely one of the best periods of hockey we've seen from this group in a long time. All four lines were rolling and they came out of the opening twenty with a 3-0 lead to show for it. Shots heading into the first intermission were 12-8 in the Rangers favor.

Second Period

A minute and a half into the second, the Rangers gave up another breakaway as Owen Tippett made a break for the net and fired a backhand that Shesterkin was able to turn away with relative ease. Not long after, Fox sent the puck over the glass which sent him to the box for a delay of game penalty. This time around, the Flyers would convert with the man advantage as a one timer from Jamie Drysdale at the point was stopped by Shesterkin but Matevi Michkov’s hands worked their magic to tuck in the rebound to put the Flyers on the board, 3-1. 

The Rangers went back to the power play sooner after as Travis Konecny was called for holding. It only took thirty seconds for that top unit to convert again as a shot from Vincent Trocheck set up the rebound for Gabe Perreault, making it a 4-1 game. 

Things settled down significantly for the rest of the period however one thing was becoming clear and that’s Alexis Lafrenière was playing with some confidence again. With a goal and an assist on the night already, he was making moves with the puck and commanding play all over the offensive zone. If he can keep that up and continue to build chemistry with Zibanejad and Perreault, that’s going to be huge for this team moving forward. 

With two and a half to go in the second, Adam Edstrom did a good job of using his reach to protect the puck which drew another Philadelphia penalty. The Rangers would convert for a third time on the power play as a nice passing play set Mika Zibanejad up at the doorstep to make it a 5-1 game. 

Zibanejad continues to cement his place in the Rangers history books with that goal.

Just 20 seconds later, another strong shift from the third line got Gavrikov the puck at the point. Gavrikov was originally credited with the goal but his shot deflected off the stick of Tye Kartye. His first as a Ranger would extend his new team's lead to 6-1 as they head into the second intermission.

Third Period

The Flyers would have a change in net to start the third as Samuel Ersson would take over for Dan Vladar who allowed six goals on 24 shots. A minute in, the Rangers went back to the penalty kill as Braden Schneider was called for hooking. The Blueshirts were successful in holding the Flyers off as they had a good grasp on this game here in the third period.

Of course as the period went on, the Flyers pushed more and more and with four and a half to go in the period, Sean Couturier was open in the slot and fired a quick shot home to make it 6-2.

That would do it as the Rangers closed things out the reset of the period and picked up their second 6-2 win in a week. Big nights for several players as Zibanejad, Lafrenière, Perreault, Laba, Kartye, Gavrikov and Trocheck all had multi-point outings. It'll be a quick turn around as the Rangers are back at it on home ice tomorrow night as they'll host the Calgary Flames.