Game 50 Preview: FLYERS @ RANGERS
Interim head coach Scott Gordon's Philadelphia Flyers (20-23-6) are in Manhattan on Tuesday to take on David Quinn's New York Rangers (21-20-7). Game time at Madison Square Garden is 7:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised nationally on NBCSN. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the third of four meetings between the Metro Division teams this season and the second and final game in New York. The Flyers are 2-0-0 thus far in the season series. The final game will take place at the Wells Fargo Center on March 29.
On Black Friday, a hungry and aggressive Flyers team took the play to the Rangers for most of the game, outworking New York in one of Philly's most complete efforts of the season. The Flyers prevailed, 4-0, and generated 46 shots.
Travis Konecny recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick with a first period goal, second period fight with Ryan Strome and third period assists on two insurance goals by Sean Couturier. Claude Giroux collected three assists. Jordan Weal scored an empty net goal assisted by Wayne Simmonds. Now-former Flyers goalie Cal Pickard earned a 30-save shutout for the Flyers. His best saves came in the third period while the game was still 1-0. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 42 of 45 shots in a losing cause. The team in front of him had turnovers galore and yielded multiple odd-man rushes but Lundqvist kept his team close until nearly the end.
On Dec. 23 at MSG,the Flyers skated off with a 3-2 shootout victory to improve at the time to 3-1-0 over their first four games under Gordon after he replaced Dave Hakstol behind the bench.
In his best start of what has been another injury-plagued season, Michal Neuvirth was stellar in the MSG game. He made a host of key saves and had little to no chance of stopping either of the two goals that got past him on 34 shots. In the shootout, Neuvirth went 4-for-4. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 of 31 shots during regulation and overtime and then went 3-for-4 in the skills competition.
The Flyers got goals from Michael Raffl (1st of the season), Wayne Simmonds (power play, 11th) and the shootout winner by Nolan Patrick. Chris Kreider scored on a 2-on-1 for the Rangers in the first period. Boo Nieves scored from point-blank range in the second period after Lias Andersson checked Travis Sanheim off the puck behind the Flyers' net.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers have gone 5-7-2 in the 14 games since they last played the Rangers. However, after sustaining an eight-game winless streak (0-6-2) following the leaguewide Christmas break, the Flyers are 5-1-0 in their last six games and have won a season-high four games in a row heading into this match.
Tuesday's game is the second half of a back-to-back set for the Flyers. After an off-ice day on Wednesday, the Flyers head to Boston to play the Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday.
On Monday, the Flyers skated to a workmanlike
3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at the Wells Fargo Center.
Phil Varone (2nd), Travis Konecny (13th) and James van Riemsdyk (13th) scored for the Flyers. Michael Raffl (6th), Christian Folin (2nd), Andrew MacDonald (6th) and Konecny (15th) collected an assist apiece. Konency, selected the game's second star, was playing in his 200th NHL regular season game.
Anthony Stolarz will get the start in goal on Tuesday. Against the Jets on Monday, Carter Hart was outstanding in goal for the Flyers. He stopped 31 of 32 shots to claim first-star honors.
Shayne Gostisbehere suffered a lower body bruise before the game on Monday and was a late scratch from the Flyers' lineup. He will not play on Tuesday but stands a good chance to return for Thursday's game and is almost certain to be ready by Saturday at the latest. For now, Folin will start in Gostisbehere's place.
Flyers captain and sixth-time All-Star Game representative Claude Giroux has been logging massive ice time responsibilities, including 22:13 against the Jets. He has played north of 20 minutes in all but two games dating back to Dec. 20; 19:49 at Florida on Dec. 29 and 19:41 vs. St. Louis on January 7 are the two exceptions. He still leads the team in scoring this season with 52 points (14 goals, 38 assists), and has moved back to center in recent weeks in order to spread the wealth through the middle. However, he has only scored one goal in his last 13 games and did not record a point in eight of them.
Rangers Outlook
The Rangers have struggled on the road this season but have been a good home team (13-6-5) and have earned at least one point from nine of their last 11 games at MSG. Tuesday's game is the team's first since its bye week and the NHL All-Star break. The team has won three games in a row and four of its last five, including a 3-2 road win in Boston on Jan. 19 in the final game before the schedule break.
The time off enabled forward Kevin Hayes (10 goals, 33 points in 39 games) to heal from an injury suffered on Dec. 14. He returned to practice on Monday, and will be in the lineup against the Flyers. Defenseman Neal Pionk (5 goals, 20 points) has been out for four games with a lower-body injury. He, too, practiced on Monday. Officially, Pionk is a gameday decision but is more likely than not to be available for this game.
Over the course of the team's bye week, the Rangers sent goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (6-8-1, 3.43 GAA, .895 SV%, 1 SO) and forward Nieves (two goals, seven points in 16 GP) to the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack to get some work. Both players have been recalled.
Georgiev is expected to get the start in goal against the Flyers after aging superstar netminder Henrik Lundqvist (15-12-7, 3.01 GAA, .908 SV%) participated over the weekend in his 5th NHL All-Star Game.
Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers in scoring with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) through 48 games played. Kreider's 22 goals (37 points) paces the team in the goal-scoring department. Veteran playmaking Mats Zuccarello has been limited by injury to 35 games (eight goals, 16 assists) and is currently out with a foot infection. Promising young forward Filip Chytil has posted nine goals and 18 points in 47 games.
Projected Lines (Subject to change)
FLYERS
25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
21 Scott Laughton - 19 Nolan Patrick -17 Wayne Simmonds
44 Phil Varone - 20 Mikhail Vorobyev - 12 Michael Raffl
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim
8 Robert Hägg - 3 Radko Gudas
47 Andrew MacDonald - 26 Christian Folin
41 Anthony Stolarz
[79 Carter Hart]
Scratches: 15 Jori Lehterä (healthy), 53 Shayne Gostisbehere (day-to-day, lower-body bruise), 56 Mike McKenna (healthy), 30 Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
RANGERS
20 Chris Kreider - 93 Mika Zibanejad - 21 Brett Howden
26 Jimmy Vesey - 13 Kevin Hayes - 90 Vladislav Namestnikov
72 Filip Chytil - 16 Ryan Strome - 17 Jesper Fast
8 Cody McLeod - 24 Boo Nieves - 89 Pavel Buchnevich
18 Marc Staal - 77 Anthony DeAngelo
76 Brady Skjei - 54 Adam McQuaid
44 Neal Pionk - 22 Kevin Shattenkirk
24 Alexandar Georgiev
[30 Henrik Lundqvist]
Scratches: 42 Brendan Smith (healthy) or 44 Neal Pionk (lower-body), 28 Mats Zuccarello (day-to-day, foot infection), 32 Marek Mazanek (healthy), 33 Fredrik Claesson (IR, shoulder).
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