Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Game 7: Flyers @ Rangers

Boasting wins in all the even-numbered games in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal playoff series after dropping all of the odd-numbered ones, the Philadelphia Flyers have forced a seventh and deciding game with the New York Rangers. Game time at Madison Square Garden is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The The match will be televised locally on Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia, nationally in the U.S. on NBCSN and across Canada on TSN2.

The winner of tonight's game will advance to play the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Series Progression

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.

Game Two

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.

Game Three

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, played the final seven-plus minutes. 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.

Game Four

The Flyers rode an outstanding 37-save performance by Mason to overcame an early deficit and a shaky first period to capture a 2-1 regulation victory in Game Four at the Wells Fargo Center.

Dominic Moore opened the scoring with a wraparound goal at the 4:38 mark of the first period. Matt Read's first goal of the series knotted the score at 1-1 near the midway mark of the first period. On the play, Jason Akeson banked the puck off the end boards and it went directly to Read on the other side.

In the middle period, Jakub Voracek deflected home a power play goal at 7:22 for what proved to be game-winning tally. Brayden Schenn fired a low, deflectable shot on net from high in the zone, and Voracek tipped it upstairs over Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist (23 saves) played a solid game in net for the Rangers in Game Four. He had no chance on either Philadelphia goal and thwarted several good scoring chances when Philly had a chance to get an insurance goal. Mason was spectacular at the other end of the ice.

Apart from Mason helping to steal Game Four, the Flyers won the game largely due to winning the special teams battle. Philly went 1-for-2 on the power play. They also killed all three of their own disadvantages, including a lengthy 4-on-3 disadvantage late in the second period and early in the third.

Game Five

The Flyers had early opportunities to take control of the game. They failed to do and wound up having to chase the game in the first period for the fourth time in five games.
New York built a 3-0 lead in the second period. Philly battled back to shave the deficit to one goal but could not find an equalizer. A late empty net goal sealed a 4-2 win for New York.

Marc Staal, Brad Richards, Dominic Moore and Brian Boyle (empty net) scored for the Rangers. Lundqvist stopped 24 of 26 shots for New York. For Philadelphia, Vincent Lecavalier and Claude Giroux each scored their first goal of the series. Mason (18 saves on 21 shots) was ordinary in net in Game Five after a spectacular performance in Game Four.

Game Six

The Flyers captured a 5-2 win behind a spectacular 34-save performance by Mason that was even better than his play in Game Four.

Wayne Simmonds tallied his first career playoff hat trick with a pair of power play goals sandwiched around an even strength goal. Erik Gustafsson, making his first start of the series, scored a breakaway goal exiting the penalty box. Claude Giroux notched a three-point night, scoring an empty net goal to add to a pair of earlier assists.

Mason helped the team overcome an often-sloppy first period that saw the club charged with nine giveaways. It was a coup for the Flyers to take a 1-0 lead to the first intermission. The team used its power play as a springboard to forge ahead in the game, while Mason continued to author numerous brilliant saves with his glove and quick lateral movement.

Simmonds' first goal of the game came on the Flyers' fourth scoring chance during a Benoit Pouliot minor for holding. In a bit of self-made good luck for the Flyers, Simmonds' follow-up of a Hartnell rebound off an initial pass from Giroux bounced in off Rangers' defenseman McDonagh.

Philadelphia seized control of the game with a three-goal outburst in the second period.

Simmonds second goal was made possible by Brayden Schenn forcing a rare turnover by Dan Girardi along the boards. Schenn made a strong move toward the net and threaded a pass through McDonagh's legs to a wide-open Simmonds at point blank range. Killing off Gustafsson's penalty and scoring immediately thereafter on a breakaway generated by a stretch pass from Coburn and a picturesque finish by Gustafsson was a dagger to the hearts of the Rangers that made the score 3-0.

Simmonds' third goal and second power play goal made the final period a formality. This one was tipped in from the doorstep as Voracek cut inside and made the set up. Giroux got his second assist of the game.

In the third period, Lundqvist (19 saves on 23 shots) gave way to backup Cam Talbot (five saves on five shots). Mason continued to make outstanding saves before and after Carl Hagelin broke up the shutout bid with 6:34 left in the game.

Even after he finally yielded a goal, the Wells Fargo Center crowd chanted "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son!" in the same sing-song way that Philly crowds used to chant "Ber-nie! Ber-nie!" for Bernie Parent and "Pel-le! Pel-le!" for Pelle Lindbergh. To my recollection, this was the first time in Mason's Flyers career that he was honored in that manner by the crowd.

Down by three goals, Alain Vigneault took a stab in the dark at a comeback bid by pulling Talbot for an extra attacker. Giroux responded with an empty net goal. Mats Zuccarello scored in the final minute of play to make the game a 5-2 final.

The Flyers went 2-for-3 on the power play in Game Six. They went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill. Philly also outscored the Rangers at even strength by a 3-2 margin, although the final one was an empty netter.

Flyers Outlook

Head coach Craig Berube made some lineup adjustments in Game Six. The changes worked well in that game and will no doubt carry over into the seventh game.

Michael Raffl moved to the top line left wing spot to add some speed and two-way presence. Meanwhile, Scott Hartnell was placed on the second line with Brayden Schenn moving from left wing to center. All three players responded with solid games. Vincent Lecavalier was demoted back to the fourth line, skating 9:28 over 12 shifts.

Erik Gustafsson was moved into the blueline rotation, with Hal Gill coming out of the lineup. Andrew MacDonald started with Mark Streit, while Gustafsson started with Luke Schenn.

Entering Game Six, the three big keys for the Flyers were playing from ahead early, getting a big game in goal from Mason and for at least holding even with the Rangers in five-on-five play (an area where New York had been dominating the series). They accomplished all three objectives while continuing to be the better club in special teams.

The Flyers power play has run hot and cold in the series, depending on the game in question. In Games Three and Five, it was a momentum killer not only to fail to score but to struggle to get set up and generate shots that didn't get blocked or miss the net. In Games Two and Six in particular, the power play struck paydirt at crucial times and helped create a wave of momentum.

Philadelphia's penalty kill has been successful 20 straight times in this series, going back to Game Two. If the Flyers can ride that through one more game and ultimately prevail in Game Seven, it will be one of the areas that can be pointed to as a key reason for victory.

The Flyers still need to improve in their puck management. Seventeen giveaways in Game Six (including the aforementioned nine in the first period) was way too many unforced turnovers. It forced Mason to save the team's bacon a little too often. That needs to cleaned up in Game Seven.

Above all, it will up to the Flyers to once again match the Rangers' performance at even strength as they did for the majority of Game Six after the first period. Five-on-five play is where New York has truly been dominant in two of its wins in the series and even in its loss in Game Four.

Yesterday, the Flyers announced that Nicklas Grossmann underwent surgery to repair tendons in his right foot. The injury was suffered early in the second period of Game Four. The big Swede will be unavailable for eight to 10 weeks, which ends his playoff run.

Rangers Outlook

The Rangers' biggest challenge entering Game Seven will be find some answers on the power play. The team will also have to clamp down defensively again after uncharacteristically yielding a lot of real estate to the Flyers in Game Six. That is usually one of New York's strengths.

A few Rangers players, especially Benoit Pouliot, have been prone to taking some bad penalties over the course of the series. Derek Dorsett has twice been nabbed on embellishment penalties. These need to stop if the Rangers are to win.

Henrik Lundqvist should have no problem bouncing back from an ordinary performance in Game Six. He has generally been a non-factor in the series. Lundqvist hasn't had to be spectacular in any of the three New York wins and most of the goals he's yielded in the series have been unstoppable ones. None have been outright soft ones.

The one area of greatest concern for the Rangers, although Vigneault and the team would never admit it, was that Girardi looked a little fatigued in Game Six after being stellar for most of the first five games. Defense partner McDonagh, who had a fabulous regular season, is clearly playing at far less than one hundred percent health right now. Girardi had been doing the real heavy lifting on the top pair throughout the series, and he looked like he might be wearing down. Girardi was also shaken up a bit in Game Six after a painful shot block on Giroux on Philadelphia's first power play.

Although he has not gotten as much attention as Girardi and McDonagh of late, defenseman Marc Staal has generally played very well in the series. He has outplayed McDonagh in the defensive zone in particular.

Top line forward Rick Nash enters Game Seven still looking for his first goal of the series. The team will need their biggest offensive weapon to step to the forefront in Game Seven, along with Martin St. Louis.

Neither the Rangers nor the Flyers will hold a morning skate prior to Game Seven. It remains to be seen if the immediate turnaround from Game Six is a factor in the deciding game.

After all of the previous games, there has been at least a one-day spacing between matches, with multi-day gaps early in the series. In a series where the teams have alternated wins, the spacing of games may or may not have contributed to the losing side in each of the first five games having a chance to recover and make adjustments through film review sessions and on-ice practice.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)

Flyers

12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
19 Scott Hartnell - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 42 Jason Akeson
36 Zac Rinaldo - 40 Vincent Lecavalier - 18 Adam Hall

44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
47 Andrew MacDonald - 32 Mark Streit
26 Erik Gustafsson - 22 Luke Schenn

35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]


Potential scratches: Nicklas Grossmann (right ankle surgery), Steve Downie (upper body), 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 - 10 J.T. Miller
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), Dan Carcillo (healthy).

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