1st Period
6:34 Flyers goal, Ivan Provorov with the assists by Sean Couturier and Jake Voracek
1-0 Flyers
10:41 Matt Beleskey and Radko Gudas concurring minors. Holding the stick for Beleskey and Interference from Gudas.
The Flyers came out roaring in the first, controlling the pace of the game for a majority of play in the first. Provorov’s goal came from an in close chance Couturier had, and he shot it, and it bounced off of Provorov in front and behind Lundqvist. Great period altogether from Philadelphia.
2nd Period
12:24 Flyers goal, Claude Giroux with the assists by Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Couturier. This was Claude Giroux’s 100th point on the year.
2-0 Flyers
17:53 Flyers goal, Michael Raffl with the assists from Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning.
3-0 Flyers
17:59 Flyers goal, Claude Giroux with the assist from Michael Raffl.
4-0 Flyers
The Flyers continued their stellar play in the 2nd, setting the franchise record for least amount of time between two goals (6 seconds apart). Giroux finally reached the 100 point plateau, and surpassed it with another goal five and a half minutes later. Side note, give this man the Hart Trophy. Anyways, Elliott made the saves he needed to make, looking much better than he did Thursday night.
3rd Period
10:11 Flyers Goal, Claude Giroux with the assist from Travis Sanheim
5-0 Flyers
18:59 Flyers penalty, Oskar Lindblom for high sticking.
The Flyers looked absolutely stellar against the Rangers. Elliott looked sharp between the pipes, regaining his form from before the injury against Arizona, and Claude Giroux netted his first regular season hat trick. Travis Sanheim’s pass to Giroux for the third goal was a thing of beauty as well.
This Flyers team can be very dangerous come playoff time, if they can play the way they played today against New York. The Flyers potential opponent will be figured out soon, and it’s narrowed down to Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Boston, or Washington. A series against any of the four will be difficult, but the Flyers have played well against all four of those teams, even if the record doesn’t show it.
The best bet the Flyers have is playing Washington in the first round. The Flyers are 3-1 against them this year, their best record out of the four potential opponents (PIT 0-4, BOS 1-2, TBL 1-2). The Flyers have played all four teams tough, but they have the most wins against Washington, and seem to have them figured out more than any other of the remaining potential opponents.
Pittsburgh would be the worst-case scenario, considering they lost all four meetings between the two teams this season. The Penguins are a deep, fast team and the Flyers do not match up very well against them. However, the Flyers have found success playing them in the playoffs.
Regardless, the Flyers have made the playoffs 3 out of the last 6 years now, 7 out of the last 10, and since 1994-95, 18 times. They have a little bit out momentum going forward, and hope to maintain it, because they’re going to need it, regardless of who they go up against.
Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
