In back-to-back games, the Flyers have beaten soundly in overtime. On Tuesday, goaltenders’ Igor Shesterkin and Carter Hart were both excellent, but ultimately, it was New York’s Chris Kreider that prevailed on a breakaway in overtime.
First Period
Plus: The Flyers played with a lot of spirited effort in the opening frame against the Rangers in this one. The club was checking diligently, despite Rangers’ forward Vincent Trocheck hitting a post at 11:45 of the period.
Minus: Flyers forward Zack MacEwen took a nasty spill after clipping skates with a Ranger during Philadelphia’s first powerplay attempt at the 11:15 mark of the period. MacEwen would go on to miss the rest of the period but would later return to the game no worse for wear. The Flyers are already running a skeleton lineup of forwards as is, they couldn’t afford to lose another one.
Plus: One of the more noticeable players for Philadelphia in this period was Owen Tippett. He got in on the forecheck and create a couple scoring chances for the Flyers in the opening period, perhaps building off his good effort against the Hurricanes.
Two Period
Minus: The Rangers ratcheted up the pressure throughout the second period, the Flyers would bend but not break. If not for Carter Hart – who made 35 saves on the night and was once again the Flyers best player – they could have been blown out. This was somewhat out of character for the orange and black, as the middle period has often been their best to start the year.
Plus: At the end of the period, Travis Konecny helped drag his teammates into the fight (so to speak) by creating a big-time scuffle at the Rangers net as the horn sounded. Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Kevin Hayes also joined in, and the Flyers managed to get a powerplay out of the foray. We’ve seen this before with Konecny, as he is often at his most effective when he is engaged. He was once again the Flyers most dangerous player with the puck on his stick.
Third Period
Minus: Kevin Hayes had two glorious chances in tight on Igor Shesterkin in the final frame, but the Russian goaltender made point-blank saves on both attempts. When he had to be, Shesterkin was strong for New York despite only seeing 19 shots.
Overtime
Minus: After both Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny ripped pucks high and wide to try to end the game in 3-on-3, Rangers’ forward Chris Kreider iced the game on a breakaway with just a minute left in the extra frame. It was redemption for Kreider, who had a breakaway earlier in the contest, but hit the inside of the post.
Quick Hits
- The Flyers are now 2-0-1 in the first game of back-to-backs with the loss.
- Philadelphia won 30-of-50 faceoffs tonight, posting a season-high 60% mark at the faceoff dot. Scott Laughton led the way winning 10-of-14 faceoffs.
- Congratulations to defensemen Justin Braun, who skated in his 800th NHL game against the Rangers Tuesday. He becomes the 24th Minnesota-born skater (13th defenseman) to reach 800 games in NHL history.
- Tony DeAngelo played 25:44 TOI, reaching the 20-minute mark for a career-high ninth consecutive game.
- Carter Hart moves to 5-0-2 on the season, which extends his season-opening run without a regulation loss to seven games. Per NHL Stats, only four goaltenders in franchise history have do so: Pete Peeters (1979-80), Bob Froese (1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (1993-94).
What’s Next
It’s a quick turnaround for the Flyers, as they head north of the border to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night, 7:00 puckdrop.
