Rangers can’t solve Mason, Flyers tie series

Stupid live boards (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

The Rangers can’t seem to get a two game lead in a playoff series lately. This time around Steve Mason made 37 saves, many of them pretty spectacular, on 38 shots to give the Flyers a 2-1 win and a series tie heading back to New York. There really isn’t much else to say on this one: Steve Mason was the difference maker in this game, although the Flyers did cash in on a pair of defensive miscues for their two goals.

The Rangers were all over the Flyers in the first period, using their superior speed to skate right past the slow Flyers defensemen and create opportunities. The Flyers adjusted after the first period, and it was then when the ice started to tilt a bit more towards even. By the end of the game the Flyers knew where every breakout pass was going to be. They also stood up at the blue line, forcing the Rangers to dump-and-chase, playing to Mason’s strengths as a puck handler.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Flyers 0

Dominic Moore made a great individual play here to get the goal right after his penalty expired. Moore picked up the puck after a good defensive play by Brian Boyle and burned Mark Streit down the seam. His shot was stopped by Mason, but he picked up his own rebound behind the net and beat Mason with a wrap around.

Flyers 1, Rangers 1

There were a few defensive miscues here by the Rangers. First, Rick Nash and John Moore don’t communicate that well on who will pick up Matt Read. The main issue came when Derek Stepan stepped up on Jason Akeson after his shot went wide, despite the fact that Kevin Klein was already there. Stepan, who was initially covering Sean Couturier, had left his coverage assignment. Moore had to slide over to Couturier, who was the more dangerous threat, allowing Read to be wide open for the goal after the weird bounce off the boards. On the broadcast, Joe noted that Moore and Rick Nash didn’t communicate that well on who would pick up Read. While that was an issue, the bigger issue was Stepan deserting Couturier, forcing Moore to decide between Couturier and Read.

Flyers 2, Rangers 1

Blurry, but you can see the issue.

Marc Staal wound up in no-man’s land on this powerplay goal by Philly. While he was at the top of the circle, Anton Stralman was left to cover both Jakub Voracek and Vinny Lecavalier. Naturally, he couldn’t cover both, and Brayden Schenn made a nice pass to Voracek who made a pretty deflection over Hank for the goal.

Fenwick Chart:

Courtesy of ExtraSkater

This chart is a bit interesting, if only because it shows domination for the Rangers for Fenwick-For (SOG+missed shots), but the teams were tied in Corsi-For (Fenwick+blocked shots). This means that although the Rangers forced Mason to make a lot of saves, they also blocked a lot of shots for Hank (21 in total). Remember, blocking shots means that the puck was in your zone. Personally, I prefer Corsi over Fenwick, but ES has the Fenwick chart for now.

Another game after taking the lead in a series, another loss. That’s 11 straight losses after taking a lead in a series, dating back to 2012. It’s certainly a problem, but I think it’s less of a problem than most are making it out to be. This year’s team, which has an entirely new coaching staff and just nine returning skaters from the 2012 season, has two losses in a row when up a game. It’s frustrating, that’s for sure, but there’s really nothing of substance to it.

Regardless, the Rangers and Flyers are now in a best of three series. Game Five is Sunday, with another noon start.