The Rangers came into last night’s game looking to rebound from the post-Thanksgiving clunker against the Flyers last time they played. They did just that, at least in terms of the scoreboard. The puck was almost entirely in the Rangers’ zone from the get-go, which I guess is par for the course for the Rangers lately.
It got even worse for the Blueshirts in the second, and the Flyers held a significant advantage in SOG and shot attempts. But the Rangers owned the third. While Henrik Lundqvist kept the Rangers in it in the first two periods, it was Michal Neuvirth who saved the Flyers from themselves in the third.
Both teams struggled with consistent defense, which led to a good amount of quality chances against both netminders. But both were up to the task, with Hank doing his usual thing and Neuvirth looking like Hasek out there.
Rangers 1, Flyers 0
Kevin Hayes might be pretty good and a dope finish from Chris Kreider pic.twitter.com/mgKGjnXHSk
— Fitz (@FitzGSN_) December 24, 2018
Kevin Hayes and Chris Kreider are having some kind of season. Hayes started this whole thing by poking the puck out of the zone to start the rush. When he had no more room, he had the presence of mind to know where Kreider was, spun, and fired a near perfect pass to him. Kreider just had to finish.
Flyers 1, Rangers 1
An early Christmas gift from Raff! #PHIvsNYR | #LetsGoFLyers pic.twitter.com/8J0dfO44vq
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 24, 2018
Marc Staal got caught on this one, as Michael Raffl poked the puck by him to start the 2-on-1. Maybe I’m overanalyzing here, but I don’t like the way Neal Pionk played this rush. He’s so far removed from Raffl that it’s almost a breakaway. Yes he blocks the pass, which is great, but giving Raffl that much room?
Dave and Vally (and John Gianonne later) broke this down during the intermission. Basically Pionk is taking a few things into consideration here:
- Hank is in net, and is probably preferring the shot.
- Raffl is on the off-wing, so the shot is significantly more dangerous.
- Pionk isn’t over committed to either play, but he’s leaning pass, which is the right play. However ideally he’s a little more to the left to pressure the shooter a bit, without losing his stick in the passing lane.
- JG mentioned that Lindy Ruff spoke to Pionk and said that as Raffl is about to tee up the shot, he should slide a bit to pressure the shot.
Flyers 2, Rangers 1
Simmer scores his 11th goal of the season from his office. #PHIvsNYR | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/4NjTIr5s7R
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 24, 2018
This is a slick passing play by the Flyers on the powerplay. Ideally you want a stick on Wayne Simmonds in front, but once that puck gets behind Hank off the post, it’s chaos.
Rangers 2, Flyers 2
BOO-YAH!!!#NYR #LGR pic.twitter.com/KUaYj8HuPQ
— MSG Networks (@MSGNetworks) December 24, 2018
When we talk about toughness, this is the kind of toughness we want. It’s the hit that separates a player from the puck to set up an offensive chance. The fourth line had a great shift here.
Shot Heatmap
This is a little misleading, There is a lot of yellow for the Rangers, showing they were shooting from all over the place. That is the right strategy against Neuvirth. As for the Flyers, they were “limited” to the slot area. There’s significant volume from right in front.
And now we enter the holiday break. For those that celebrated Hannukah, I hope you enjoyed the holiday. For those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas. For those who celebrate neither, Happy New Year!
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