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Flyers Playoff Gameday: ECQF Game 4 vs. NYR |
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Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 4: Flyers vs. Rangers
Needing a win to even their first-round playoff series at two games apiece and ensure a return trip home for Game 6, the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The match will be televised locally on CSN Philly, nationally in the U.S. on CNBC and across Canada on TSN.
In Game One, the Flyers had trouble generating any sort of attack on the Rangers end of the ice but defended well enough and received strong enough goaltending from Ray Emery to keep the game at 1-1 until near the midway point of the third period.
Philly's undoing in the third period was a double-minor penalty that resulted in back-to-back New York goals. Subsequently, a hit post on a Kimmo Timonen shot resulted in a Rangers counterattack and a goal that sealed a 4-1 final. The Flyers ended up getting outshot by a 36-15 margin. Andrew MacDonald notched the lone Flyers goal.
In Game 2, the Rangers got off to a quick 2-0 lead only the see the Flyers roar back for four unanswered goals as Philadelphia evened the series at one game apiece. A first-period line rush goal by Jakub Voracek started the turnaround. Second period goals by Jason Akeson (power play) and Luke Schenn (scored on a delayed penalty) put the Flyers ahead.
Emery, who had to make tougher saves in the first two periods of Game Two than in periods one and two of the series opener, got help in the third period. The Flyers did an outstanding job of protecting their one-goal lead without losing their aggressiveness. Finally, after a late game too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty by the Rangers, Wayne Simmonds scored an eventful empty net power play goal to seal the win for the Flyers.
In Game 3, the Rangers once again got off to a quick 2-0 lead. The Flyers got a goal back late in the first period as Mark Streit converted a pass from Voracek during a 4-on-4. Philly dominated the second period territorially but the only goal was a partially screened shot by Dan Girardi from the point. Former Flyers pest Dan Carcillo added additional insurance in the third period as New York won, 4-1.
The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 3. Despite outshooting the Rangers by a 32-23 margin for the game, the real story for the Flyers was the 28 shot attempts they had blocked and the other 20 attempts that missed the net.
Additionally, of the four goals Emery allowed in the game, three could have been played better by the goaltender. Steve Mason, who backed up for the first time in the series and played the final seven-plus minutes, will return to the net for Game 4 now that he's had three straight pain-free days. At the other end of the ice, Lundqvist had to make about four to a half-dozen tough stops in Game 3. He had no chance on Streit's goal.
After tonight's game, the series moves back to Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon. Depending on tonight's outcome, the Flyers will either be looking on Sunday to take the lead in the series or to win the first of up to three games where they face playoff elimination.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers have gotten goals from their defense corps in each of the first three games. However, in Games One and Three, they did not get a single goal from any of their forwards. That needs to change for the Flyers to knot the series at two games apiece.
Mason, who looked sharp at practice yesterday, offers superior puckhandling and lateral movement to Emery. He also has an outstanding glove and the fact that he is left-catching goalie presents an adjustment for the Rangers. When on top of his game, Mason has solid rebound control. When he's not quite as sharp, there are more pucks left in dangerous areas.
The Flyers spent the latter half of yesterday's practice working on their power play. Specifically, they tried to move the puck around from different angles and have Jakub Voracek handle the puck a little more. The Rangers have been heavily pressuring Claude Giroux's side of the ice and, if successful, changing up the angles could create a few more open chances from good shooting areas.
Rangers Outlook
The Rangers haven't really had to make many adjustments in the series thus far. Last game, they did insert Carcillo in the lineup in place of Jesper Fast. The volatile Carcillo was in full "Carbomb" mode and even scored a goal after exiting the penalty box.
Tonight, the Rangers will try to attack Mason's net a little differently than they attacked Emery. With Emery, the clear cut game plan whenever possible was to get him moving laterally. New York was even passing up open shots at time in attempts to work the puck cross-ice.
Playing against Mason, the Rangers will probably try to generate more rebounds into the slots and perhaps also try to test the goaltender high to the blocker side. New York also has to make some adjustments on their dump-ins because of Mason's puckhandling prowess.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
Flyers
19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
10 Brayden Schenn - 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 42 Jason Akeson
36 Zac Rinaldo - 12 Michael Raffl - 18 Adam Hall
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
47 Andrew MacDonald - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
Potential scratches: Steve Downie (upper body), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Jay Rosehill (healthy), Chris VandeVelde (healthy), Tye McGinn (healthy), Cal Heeter (healthy), Yann Danis (healthy), Brandon Manning (healthy), Brandon Alderson (healthy), Scott Laughton (healthy), Petr Straka (healthy), Nick Cousins (healthy), Oliver Lauridsen (healthy), Mark Alt (healthy).
Rangers
61 Rick Nash - 21 Derek Stepan - 26 Martin St. Louis
67 Benoit Pouliot - 16 Derick Brassard - 36 Mats Zuccarello
62 Carl Hagelin - 19 Brad Richards - 13 Dan Carcillo
22 Brian Boyle - 28 Dominic Moore - 15 Derek Dorsett
27 Ryan McDonagh - 5 Dan Girardi
18 Marc Staal - 6 Anton Stralman
17 John Moore - 8 Kevin Klein
30 Henrik Lundqvist
[33 Cam Talbot]
Potential scratches: Jesper Fast (healthy), Raphael Diaz (healthy), Justin Falk (healthy), Chris Kreider (hand surgery), J.T. Miller (healthy).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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