Flyers Let One Slip Away Against Rangers
By Scott Cole
It was one of the best games that the Flyers have played in a long time. They took one of the top teams in the Metropolitan Division to the wire. They gave an effort that hadn’t been since in a while. And yet, despite all of this, they still fell to the New York Rangers 3-2 after Vladimir Tarasenko rifled a shot that took a hop on the ice, flicked over Carter Hart’s shoulder, and found the back of the net to secure an overtime win.
The Flyers were disciplined in this game; taking just one penalty. Scott Laughton drew a slashing penalty at 2:35 into the game. The Rangers made them pay for it, however. Just 20 seconds into it, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Tarasenko had set themselves up on the and advantage, passing the puck back and forth. Panarin passed it to Tarasenko who found Zibanejad creeping through the center. Zibanejad one timed it at the net and scored his 32nd of the year.
The game would be tied up with five minutes left in the first thanks to a rare power play goal by Philadelphia. It was over seven minutes in the game before the Flyers had their first shot on goal, including wasting their first power play opportunity. However, the Rangers were penalized three times in the first period.
But in the third power play, Adam Fox was battling in the left corner with Rasmus Ristolainen and tried to get rid of the puck. He passed it across the center, in front of the net. Owen Tippett, on an outstanding heads up play, saw the pass, came forward, and got it past Igor Shesterkin before he could react. Shesterkin would save 26 of 28 shots as the Flyers would outshoot the Rangers in this one.
Halfway through the second frame, the Flyers struck again. Laughton let a pass linger for Wade Allison who ringed one off the post. But a few minutes later, with the Laughton line back out there, Kevin Hayes found Laughton coming across the front net. Laughton fired a shot and scored giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
They would have that lead for about 20 minutes. At just halfway into the third, Chris Krieder found a pass from Tarasenko. After Vincent Trocheck had taken a few shots on Hart, Tarasenko took the puck, passed it to Krieder who fired off the game tying goal. It remained tied until overtime when Tarasenko, who registered a point on all three of New York’s goals, fired off his game winning goal. Tarasenko, in 10 games with the Rangers, has scored three goals with five assists.
The Flyers come out with a point, but it is a shame. They outshot the Rangers 28 to 25, they had three power play opportunities, and played a well disciplined game. Still, they could not capitalize on their chances. It was also the second time this year that Hart and Shesterkin had a great goalie battle, but Shesterkin won in overtime. The Rangers defeated Philly 1-0 in November.
It’s also sobering to think that that was the last game, possibly for some members of this Flyers team. The trade deadline is today and it is likely that someone will get traded. Stay tuned.