Photo: AP

Photo: AP

The Rangers got crushed on Wednesday night, as the Penguins responded in kind to their demolition on Monday. Naturally the Rangers went from Cup contenders on Tuesday to cellar dwellers on Thursday, or at least that’s what you would think if you read the reactions across the fanbase. Those kinds of losses build character, and how the Rangers respond this afternoon on NBC will dictate what we can expect from them the rest of the season.

The Flyers present an interesting challenge in that they should be better –on paper– than they are right now. Picked by many to be a sleeper team for the playoffs, the Flyers are playing sub-.500 hockey while hemorrhaging goals. They have a bit of an injury bug on the blue line which may be contributing. They also have Andrew MacDonald on the first pair, so that can be exploited regularly.

Flyers Systems

Dave Hakstol runs a 1-2-2 forecheck, and a low zone collapse in the defensive zone. The PP is probably a 1-3-1/umbrella hybrid, and the PK is probably a hybrid as well. For more on hockey systems, follow this link.

The Flyers’ depth can be exploited int he right situation.

Flyers Lines

Brayden Schenn-Claude Giroux-Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny-Nick Cousins-Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Matt Read
Chris Vandevelde-Scott Laughton-Dale Weise

Shayne Gostisbehere-Andrew MacDonald
Ivan Provorov-Mark Streit
Brandon Manning-Radko Gudas

PP1: Giroux-Schenn-Simmonds-Voracek-Gostisbehere
PP2: Read-Cousins-Read-Provorov-Streit

Steve Mason gets the start.

Rangers Lines:

Chris KreiderKevin HayesMats Zuccarello
Michael GrabnerDerek StepanRick Nash
Jimmy VeseyBrandon PirriJ.T. Miller
Matt Puempel-Josh JoorisJesper Fast

Ryan McDonaghDan Girardi
Marc StaalBrady Skjei
Nick HoldenKevin Klein

PP1: Kreider-Miller-Pirri-Zucc-McDonagh
PP2: Nash-Stepan-Vesey-Hayes-Girardi

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Injuries/Scratches: Mika Zibanejad (leg), Adam Clendening (healthy), Pavel Buchnevich (upper body), Oscar Lindberg (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: Rebound in a big way.

Game time is 1pm. Gifs are on @blueseatblogs. Be sure to follow our snapchat (blueseatblogs) too!

Share: 

More About: