Rangers defense stiffles Flyers in 3-1 win

Photo by Scott Levy/NHLI via Getty Images

The Rangers and Flyers played what will probably be a first round preview, as these teams appear destined to square off in April when the playoffs open. The Rangers came out a bit flat, but weathered the early storm from Philly before breaking through for a 1-0 lead at the end of the first. The Rangers settled after that, and started controlling the game, forcing the Flyers into some turnovers with a good forecheck and solid neutral zone play.

Henrik Lundqvist was his usual strong self, stopping 30 of 31 shots and really bailing this team out after the sluggish start. The Rangers defense shined throughout this game, completely shutting down a very potent Flyers offense. The Rangers got more offensive from their defense (Ryan McDonagh, as per usual), and even more offense from their fourth line.

On to the goals (no pictures this time, sorry folks):

Rangers 1, Flyers 0

Derek Dorsett made his own luck on this goal with a strong forecheck, forcing Steve Mason to get rid of the puck early. Brian Boyle was able to intercept it and throw it to the front of the net. Dorsett backhanded Boyle’s feed over Mason for the early lead.

Rangers 2, Flyers 0

J.T. Miller, who played a pretty strong game, forced a pair of turnovers on this shift. The first turnover was down in the corner, giving the Rangers possession of the puck deep in Flyer territory. The second forced a bad pass to Jakub Voracek that he could not handle cleanly. McDonagh took the puck from him at the blue line, keeping the zone in the process, and skated to open ice on the near side. McDonagh took an absolute laser of a wrist shot that beat Mason top corner over his blocker.

Rangers 3, Flyers 0

A strong forecheck by Derick Brassard forced Michael Raffl into a turnover in the defensive zone. Dominic Moore Kevin Klein collected the puck at the top of the circle and threw an innocent wrister on net, which Dominic Moore deflected. Mason fumbled it, and it barely crossed the line. Mason wants this one back.

Flyers 1, Rangers 3

The Flyers ran a set face off play, Claude Giroux won the face off clean, moving the puck up to Mark Streit, who moved the puck to Voracek on the weak side. Voracek absolutely ripped it top shelf over Hank to break the shutout.

Fenwick Chart:

Courtesy of Extra Skater

Although the Flyers controlled the play early on, the relentless pressure from the Rangers on the forecheck led to a lot of opportunities for our heroes in blue. They eventually came out with a solid even strength shot attempt advantage (54.9%).

Win Expectancy Chart:

Courtesy of Extra Skater.

This is pretty much what you would expect to see from this chart, based off score, time remaining, and home ice.

This was a huge win for the Rangers, giving themselves a solid three point lead on the Flyers for second in the Metro. The Flyers have two games in hand, but the Rangers now hold the tiebreakers. Plus, this game set the tone for what will likely be a first round matchup with this squad in mid-April. All in all, just a solid team win.