It’s the final 8 games of the regular season and all of which are against divisional opponents. If the Flyers are to remain in the playoff hunt, these games are crucial.
First up for the Flyers were the New York Rangers last night. New York decided to go with backup goaltender Stephen Valiquette, who has been lights out against the Flyers this year. It was a raucous atmosphere at the Wachovia Center even before the game started. The game was a sell out, and there were plenty of Rangers fans in attendance.
The Flyers set the tempo of the game right from the opening face off. I haven’t seen them come out like that since the beginning of the season. Typically they allow the other team to set the pace in the early portion of the game, but not last night. They took it right to the Rangers.
Mike Richards opened the scoring with a beautiful goal on a breakaway. Martin Biron would play strong in net for most of the game, and the score would remain 1-0 until the third. Danny Briere would pick up his 27th goal of the season after playing race around the net with Valiquette. Briere was decked as the Rangers attempted to clear the zone, but this only kept Briere deep in the zone as the puck was kept in at the blue line. A quick pass to Briere led to the goal.
The Rangers were not finished however, as they were able to get two goals and tie the score at 2. Another goal by Briere, his 28th of the season, as he charged the net would put the Flyers back up. However, another goal by the Rangers would send the game to overtime and an eventual shootout.
The Flyers have been dreadful in the shootout, having only won two over the past two seasons before last night, and it was part of the Flyers practice regimen the other day. The Flyers decided to shoot first, with Richards and Jeff Carter both scoring. At the other end, Biron blanked the Rangers shooters to ice the win.
Even though Philadelphia played great against New York last night, the Flyers did miss a few opportunities. They went 0-6 on the power play, including time with a two man advantage and a power play during overtime. They also allowed another lead slip away late in a game. This win moved them ahead of Boston for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tags: briere · Flyers · Rangers · Richards3 Comments
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GREAT GAME! I’m sure the NY Ranger fans wish that the NHL didn’t implement the shootout. Watch out for flames if there are any Rangers trolls on this blog.
The atmosphere at the Wachovia Center was absolutely electric. It felt like a playoff game.
[...] Mike Richards used some slick moves to score twice last night, once on a breakaway and once in the shootout, I thought I’d post a video here that I found [...]