It all started just 15 seconds in. An unlikely candidate, Shayne Gostisbehere, stood up for follow teammate, Travis Konecny, after he was hit late. Gostisbehere fought Pavel Buchnevich. It was Gostisbehere’s 1st career NHL fight.
Then, the scoring started. The Rangers scored 1:30 into the game. Flyers tied it up 3:22 later. Then, we had a little time to reflect.
However, it got fun again. Rick Nash scored to make it 2-1 Rangers. Then, Wayne Simmonds fought Tony DeAngelo. Then, just 48 seconds later, Scott Laughton tied the game. And, on the next faceoff, Dale Weise fought Cody McLeod.
Please, are we done yet? Nope, there’s more.
The period continued with the Flyers getting their 1st lead. Brandon Manning picked a corner to make it 3-2. Then, the Rangers tied it 2:28 later.
Finally, the period ended.
Wow, what a crazy first period to start this one. However, the Rangers could hold up and the Flyers kept it up. The Flyers went on to score 4 more goals and win 7-4 at Madison Square Garden.
It was only their 3rd win at Madison Square Garden in their last 16 tries.
Here are 4 more observations from the Flyers 7-4 win over the Rangers…
Physical Game At MSG
It was like a playoff game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. The Flyers and the Rangers left the defense at home and went for the more physical fast moving game.
However, it just wasn’t that. There were 3 fights in the game. All coming in the 1st period. Even with them all coming in the 1st, it set the tone for the game.
The hit total finished at 48 for the game, 20 for the Flyers and 28 for the Rangers. But, with all this where were the penalties?
Well, I guess the referee’s let them play with only 1 minor penalty being called resulting in a Flyers PP. It was the second straight the Flyers did not take minor penalty.
Depth Scoring
The Flyers scored 7 goals Sunday. But, their was 7 different goal scorers.
The Flyers got goal scoring from all over the lineup Sunday against the Rangers. 2 defenseman and 5 forwards scored for the Flyers. But, they weren’t from the usually suspects.
Jori Lehtera scored his 1st of the season. Brandon Manning scored his 5th of the season. Scott Laughton scored his 10 of the season.
With the depth goal scoring today and over the last couple of games. Have the Flyers found balance throughout the lineup they have been looking for all season? I hope so.
Neuvirth Injured
If Neuvirth’s season could be told in a period, the 1st was it.
Neuvirth gave up 3 goals. Like some of the games this season, Neuvirth gave up multiple goals. He made timely saves and some huge saves. Like some games, Neuvirth stood on his head and won the game for the Flyers. Then, he got hurt. Well, this is the 3rd time Neuvirth has been injured this year.
The injury is still puzzling because nothing really stood out. The crazy part is NBC didn’t pick up on it till the first Alex Lyon save of the period.
In any case, the Flyers have to hope that this is short term because if they thought the prize for a goalie was high already. Well, it just doubled because every team in the league knows how desperate they are now.
GM Ron Hextall should have taken the deal for Detroit’s Petr Mrazek for a 3rd round pick early this week to be on the safe side. However, he was betting on Michal Neuvirth playing well and not getting hurt. Hopefully, resulting in the price going down. Well, look where that has gotten him.
Playoffs In Sight
With the Flyers 1st win in Columbus since 2005 on Friday, the result strengthened the Flyers playoff buffer to a more comfortable position. Going into the game, the Flyers held a 4-point lead on Columbus, the last team out of the playoffs. After the win, they sat with a 5-point buffer.
Today, the Flyers beat the Rangers 7-4 to get all 4 points out of the tough weekend. The two buildings the Flyers visited this weekend are haven’t been good to them over the years.
However, this weekend was different. The Flyers got victories in both places and now have the playoffs in site. They now hold a 7 point buffer on the 1st team out of the playoffs.
Result : Flyers 7 – Rangers 4, WIN
Record : 30 – 19 – 10
Next Game : 2/20 Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia PA, NBCSports Philadelphia 7:00pm
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
