Rangers continue to roll, extend point streak to 10 games with 6-1 win against Flyers

NHL: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers transformation from massive underachievers to one of the hottest teams in the NHL continued Thursday, when they skated to a 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden.

The win extended New York’s point streak to a season-long 10 games (7-0-3) and brough to an end a six-game point streak (5-0-1) for Philadelphia, which had won three straight coming in. It also moved the Rangers to within one point of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets each by a single point.

Igor Shesterkin shined again in goal for the Rangers (24-20-4), finishing with 35 saves. He allowed a goal on the second shot he faced and then slammed the door shut the rest of the way. He’s 6-0-1 in his past seven starts and surrendered just 10 goals in that span, including a pair of shutouts in his previous two games.

Twelve New York skaters found the score sheet, including all six defensemen. K’Andre Miller, Adam Fox, Filip Chytil and Reilly Smith each had a goal and an assist. Braden Schneider and Adam Edstrom scored the other Rangers goals.

Sam Ersson made 31 saves for the Flyers, whose lone goal was scored by Owen Tippett.

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New York Rangers 6 – Philadelphia Flyers 1

NHL: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

It was an inauspicious start for the Rangers, who surrendered the game’s first goal just 85 seconds after the opening face-off. Inexplicably, four Rangers were caught in the Flyers end of the ice, letting the visitors take off on a 4-on-1 break the other way. Urho Vaakanainen did his best to help Shesterkin, but Travis Konecny’s centering pass off the rush hit Tippett’s skate and bounded into the net to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 1:25.

Two minutes later, Shesterkin aggressively challenged Matvei Michkov alone in the low slot, and the rookie had little to shoot at other than the goalie’s right pad. Roughly two minutes later, the Rangers had their best early scoring chance, a 3-on-2 short-handed rush that ended with Vincent Trocheck firing a left-wing shot into Ersson’s chest.

At 6:55, Chytil split two defenders with a quick power move but was stoned by Ersson.

Undaunted the Rangers put two past Ersson just 1:24 apart to grab a 2-1 lead. Schneider tied the game with his first goal in 42 games at 9:00 of the first period. He danced around several Flyers before his centering pass for Smith hit a Flyers stick and deflected into the cage.

Then Edstrom, stationed with his back to the net between the circles, was able to deflect Ryan Lindgren’s shot past Ersson at 10:24 to make it 2-1 Rangers. The goal was Edstrom’s third in the past seven games and was part of a strong opening period for New York’s buzzing fourth line.

The Rangers out-shot the Flyers 15-11 in the first period and out-chanced them 8-3 at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick. But the ice tilted the other way a bit in the second period.

Shesterkin was the difference in the second, stopping all 17 Philadelphia shots, including 10 high-danger chances and 15 scoring chances 5v5. Many were from point-blank range and one got through him but his the post. But not one ended up in the net.

The only goal scored in the second period was off the stick of Miller, who gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with his third of the season at 4:44. It was Miller’s first goal in 16 games and was wired through a Trocheck screen, as again the Rangers got bodies to the net.

That same strategy paid off at 5:15 of the third period, when Chytil bulled to the front of the net to get his stick on a Vaakanainen shot. Chytil’s deflection beat Ersson and his 11th goal put the Rangers up 4-1.

Fox scored a short-handed empty-net goal at 16:53 to make it 5-1. Two of his three goals this season were scored into an empty net. Smith added a power-play goal, tapping a loose puck behind Ersson, at 18:15 to close out the scoring.

The Rangers take a step up in class in their next game, Sunday at home against the Colorado Avalanche, and then close out a very successful month of January when they play the Carolina Hurricanes at MSG on Tuesday.

Jim Cerny is Executive Editor at Forever Blueshirts and Managing Editor at Sportsnaut, with more than 30 years of ... More about Jim Cerny
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