Short-Handed Flyers Battle Hard For A Point

The Philadelphia Flyers lost in a shootout, 3-2, to the New York Rangers Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

After missing 10-days, the Flyers wasted no time in getting back to their style of hockey. Capitalizing on a Rangers icing just 59-seconds into the game to open up the scoring.

Kevin Hayes would find Michael Raffl in-front. Raffl would fire a shot on net from in-tight. After a net-mouth scramble, Nicolas Aube-Kubel would nudge the puck in for the goal.

But, just like the Flyers finding their game quickly, their struggles also showed up.

After the goal just 59-seconds in, the Rangers would outshoot the Flyers 10-3 over the final 19:01 of the 1st period. Including hitting the cross-bar not once, but twice on the power-play late in the 1st period.

The Rangers would tie the game early in the 2nd period. After a great penalty kill, 4-blocks & 2-saves, the Rangers would finally get one by Carter Hart. Colin Blackwell would deflect a point shot by Hart.

It would all Rangers thereafter. Firing the next 6-shots on net. But, Carter Hart would come up big & stop them all.

Then, with 3:19 left in the 2nd, Rangers Pavel Buchnevich would be awarded a penalty shot. Even after getting a scoring chance on the penalty. But, Hart would stop Buchnevich again & keep the game 1-1 headed into the 3rd period.

The Rangers would take the lead just before the halfway point of the 3rd period. Ryan Strome would draw Carter Hart out of his net & leave the puck to Brendan Smith. Who would have a wide-open net & score.

With the goalie pulled, the Flyers would tie the game with 1:14 left in the 3rd. After another net-mouth scramble, Joel Farabee would nudge the puck in for the goal.

It would be a fun overtime, but the game would go to a shootout.

The Flyers would go 1 for 3 & the Rangers would go 2 for 2. Rangers win 3-2 in shootout.

Carter Hart stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in the losing effort.

Loose Pucks…

– With Claude Giroux missing tonight’s game, his iron-man streak has come to an end. Before missing tonight’s game, Giroux played in 328 straight games. A streak that has seen Giroux not miss a game over the past 4-seasons.

– After playing in his 328th straight game tonight, Ivan Provorov will tie Dan Girardi’s NHL record of most consecutive games played to start his NHL game on Sunday. Since Provorov entered the league in 2016, the Russian swiss-army knife (as Pierre McGuire said when Provorov was drafted) has yet to miss a game. Including playing in the playoffs with a grade3 shoulder separation.

– In his pregame availability, head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed that all six Flyers on the covid list would miss Sunday’s game as well. Which means, the Flyers will be without Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Travis Konecny, & Justin Braun. Expect the same lineup as tonight in Sunday’s Lake Tahoe Outdoor Classic.

– The Flyers will travel to Lake Tahoe tomorrow for their Sunday matchup vs the Boston Bruins in the Lake Tahoe Outdoor Classic. But, due to Sunday’s forecast of sunlight with no cloud cover and in the interest of Player safety, the NHL has moved the game to 2:00pm. Game time was originally scheduled for 3:00pm.

Result : Flyers 2 – Rangers 3 , Shootout LOSS

Record : 8 – 3 – 3

Next Game : 2/21 Boston Bruins, Lake Tahoe CA, 2:00pm

Photo Credit : Len Redkoles – Getty Images