GAME 64: FLYERS vs. RANGERS
In the front end of a home-and-home set, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (36-20-7 overall, 22-5-4 home) host David Quinn's New York Rangers (35-24-4 overall, 18-11-2 away) on Friday evening. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised locally on NBCSP and nationally on NHL Network. The radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on the
Flyers Radio 24/7 component of the Flyers Broadcast Network.
This is the second of four meetings this season between the teams this season, and the second and final game in Philadelphia. The Flyers are 1-0-0 in the season series to date. The teams will rematch on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and the season series will conclude in New York on April 1.
The Flyers earned a 5-1 home win over the Rangers on Dec. 23. The game was highlighted by a two-goal, three point outburst from Travis Sanheim, two goals from ex-Ranger Kevin Hayes and 34 saves by Carter Hart.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
Winning means never have to look behind in the standings; only ahead. The Flyers have a tenuous grasp on third place in the Metro, despite Philly having won four games in a row and seven of the last 10. Keeping winning, and the rest will fall in place.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 4-2 home win over the Sharks on Tuesday. It wasn't Philly's A-game for the first 27 minutes but it was good enough to win, and the team did a good close-out job in the third period despite one turnover that ended up in their net as a 4-1 lead was reduced to two goals.
All three members of the revised Flyers second line recorded multi-point games against San Jose. Hayes had two goals and an assist. Travis Konecny talled a goal and had two helpers. Scott Laughton recorded a pair of primary assists. Nicolas Aube-Kubel opened the scoring with an early first-period power play goal.
Hart was very solid in goal against San Jose, apart from giving out a bad rebound on their first goal. The second-year NHLer stepped up big numerous times, especially while Philly was being significantly outplayed in the first period and early in the second. He finished with 26 saves on 28 shots. Hart is the expected starter in goal against the Rangers on Friday.
The Flyers had an off-day on Wednesday and a practice on Thursday in Voorhees. Defenseman Matt Niskanen and second-line center Hayes took maintenance days on Thursday. Both are expected to be in the lineup for Friday's game. Friday's starting lineup is likely to be identical to Tuesday's, with all four forward line combinations remaining the same along with all three defense pairs (which have been fairly constant since mid-January) and Hart in net.
There have not been many times this season where the Flyers have been the beneficiary of a potential fatigue factor advantage heading into a game. Friday's match is one such game, The team has been home all week, and had an open night on the schedule on Thursday. The Rangers are playing for the third time in four nights, are on the second half of a back-to-back and had to travel late last night from Montreal to Philadelphia.
"Fatigue factor" is just that; a potential obstacle for one side and a slight built-in advantage for the other. It is not a guaranteed win for the rested team or an excuse for the tired team losing. The game still has to be played, and won, as any other would.
RANGERS OUTLOOK
The Rangers have been scorching hot of late, pulling themselves into the wildcard race in the Eastern Conference. New York has won five in a row, and nine of its last 10. The Rangers, who have the most regulation wins (30) this season of any team in the Metro, have pullen even in points with Carolina (74) but the Hurricanes have one game in hand.
On Thursday night, the Rangers skated to a 5-2 road win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Blueshirts trailed, 2-0, late in the second period and 2-1 entering the third. Five unanswered goals by the Rangers turned the game into a multi-goal victory. Phil DiGiuseppe (1st goal of the season), Mika Zibanejad (30th), Adam Fox (7th), and then a pair by Ryan Strome (17th and 18th, power play and empty net) turned the tide. Alexandar Georgiev earned the win in goal with 32 saves on 34 shots. He may go again in Philadelphia.
At age 37 (he'll turn 38 on March 2), future Hall of Fame netminder Henrik Lundqvist is no longer the Rangers' go-to goalie. The former Vezina Trophy winner and perennial workhorse 60-to-70+ start workhorse is clearly slowing down. He's appeared in 28 games this year, posting a 10-11-3 record with a 3.12 GAA and .907 save percentage. However, on any given night, Lundqvist is still capable of cranking out a vintage performance with displays of the form that used to be a virtual given throughout the season.
With stellar young goaltender Igor Sheshterkin out for several weeks with a rib fracture suffered in a car accident on Sunday, it will be up to Lundqvist and Georgiev to hold the first in goal for most or all of the stretch drive. Forward Pavel Buchnevich was also shaken up in the car accident, but suffered no serious injuries. He is considered day-to-day.
There has not been a hotter player in the NHL offensively of late than Ranges superstar Artemi Panarin. The Bread Man brings an 11-game point streak in Friday's game, with 16 points (5g, 11a) in that span. Panarin also carries a streak of four multi-point games in a row, including a pair of assists in Thursday's game in Montreal. Zibanejad has been the number one beneficiary of Panarin's puck magic, and the Swede brings a streak of having scored a goal in six straight games into Friday's tilt in Philadelphia.
Rather than trading impending unrestricted free agent Chris Kreider at the NHL's trade deadline on Monday, the Rangers were able to sign him to a contract extension. The organization did trade defenseman Brady Skej to the Carolina Hurricanes, obtaining a first-round pick.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (subject to change, will be updated)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 38 Derek Grant - 18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl - 44 Nate Thompson - 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim -5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hägg - 61 Justin Braun
79 Carter Hart
[37 Brian Elliott]
Power Play 1: Giroux, Couturier, Konecny, Voracek, Provorov.
Power Play 2: JVR, Hayes, Aube-Kubel, Sanheim, Niskanen.
Scratches: 53 Shayne Gostisbehere (healthy).
LTIR: 55 Sam Morin (torn ACL, out for season), 23 Oskar Lindblom (Ewing sarcoma, out for season), 19 Nolan Patrick (migraines).
RANGERS
20 Chris Kreider - 93 Mika Zibanejad - 72 Filip Chytil
10 Artemi Panarin - 16 Ryan Strome - 17 Jesper Fast
33 Phil Di Giuseppe - 21 Brett Howden - 24 Kaapo Kakko
48 Brendan Lemieux - 14 Greg McKegg - 12 Julien Gauthier
42 Brendan Smith - 8 Jacob Trouba
18 Marc Staal - 77 Tony DeAngelo
55 Ryan Lindgren - 23 Adam Fox
49 Alexandar Georgiev
[30 Henrik Lundqvist]
Power Play 1: Kreider, Zibanejad, Strome, Panarin, DeAngelo
Power Play 2: Howden, Chytil, Kakko, Trouba, Fox
Scratches: 89 Pavel Buchenivich (soreness from car accident, day-to-day), 31 Igor Shesterkin (rib fracture from car accident, out 3+ weeks).
IR: 38 Micheal Haley (core muscle, Feb. 7)
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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