Rangers vs. Flyers: Lineups, storylines with Taylor Raddysh at father’s funeral
Taylor Raddysh missed just three games this season and played exceptionally well since the Olympic break. But the 28-year-old forward won’t be in the New York Rangers lineup Monday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Raddysh is away for the team and will miss two games to attend his father’s funeral. Dwayne Raddysh died last week at the age of 64. He was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer last May.
The Rangers forward has points in four of his past five games (one goal, three assists), and moved into a top-six role following the trade of Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings right before the Olympic break.
Jonny Brodzinski draws into the lineup in Raddysh’s spot against the Flyers, on a line with center Vincent Trocheck and wing Will Cuylle. The Rangers recalled Brendan Brisson from Hartford of the American Hockey League to be the extra forward with Raddysh away from the team.
The Rangers (24-30-8) come off a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, and are 2-1-2 since the break. Though mired in a dismal season, the Rangers secured five of a possible six points so far against the Flyers. They won 5-4 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20 and skated to a 6-3 road win in Philly on Jan. 17. In their most recent meeting, the Rangers lost 3-2 on Matvei Michkov’s game-deciding goal in overtime, in the first contest after the Olympic break at MSG.
Coming into this one, the Rangers won seven of their past eight visits to Philly.
The Flyers (29-22-11) are tied for fifth in the Metropolitan Division, and are eight points behind the third-place Islanders. Philly’s also seven points out of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, with three teams to pass. So, they’re in the playoff picture, but need to get on a hot streak and get some help along the way.
In their most recent game, the Flyers skated to a 4-3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. They won four of six games since the break.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Flyers
1. In and Out
Urho Vaakanainen draws back into the Rangers lineup Monday, replacing Vincent Iorio on the third defense pair. The 27-year-old last played on Feb. 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes, the final game before the Olympic break. He pretty much fell out of favor with coach Mike Sullivan early in the season and fell behind Matthew Robertson, Scott Morrow, and Iorio on the depth chart.
But it makes sense to get him more looks down the stretch with the Rangers playing out the string. The Rangers did sign Vaakanainen to a two-year, $3.1 million contract on March 7, 2025, so he has another season left on his deal. After recording a career-high 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) in 51 games with the Rangers and Anaheim Ducks last season, Vaakanainen has four assists in 27 games this season.
Iorio logged just 9:09 TOI against the Devils, but led the Rangers with three giveaways. Suboptimal, for sure. The game before, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Iorio played more than 16 minutes, his most TOI since the Rangers claimed him off waivers from the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 31.
Since Robertson and Vaakanainen are each left-hand shots — unlike the right Iorio — one must play his off (right) side. The Rangers already have righty Will Borgen playing his off (left) side on the second pair with fellow right-shot defender Braden Schneider.
2. Does Igor have their number?
Igor Shesterkin starts in goal for the Rangers, as well he should against the Flyers. Shesterkin is 10-4-2 lifetime against the Flyers with a sterling 2.29 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. He has, though, allowed seven goals in two starts against the Flyers this season — the shootout win and overtime defeat. Shesterkin missed the Jan. 17 contest because he was on IR with a lower-body injury.
After returning from that injury, Shesterkin started the first four games following the Olympic break and was 2-0-2. He surrendered 12 goals in those games, five of which came against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a wild 5-4 overtime loss.
The 30-year-old will be opposed by Philly’s No. 1 goalie Dan Vladar on Monday. Vladar allowed two goals or fewer in six of his past seven starts, and is 20-10-6 with a 2.40 GAA and .907 save percentage.
3. Power outage
The Rangers were 0-for-4 on the power play in their loss to the Devils on Saturday and are 2-for-14 in their past six games. Only one of those power-play goals was scored by the top unit, which eats up most of the ice time on the man advantage. Adam Fox’s return from injury and back to being the PP1 quarterback hasn’t generated the results the Rangers hoped for.
The Flyers are 2-for-18 in their past seven games on the power play. They are 31st in the NHL, converting at 15.7 percent on the power play. However, the Flyers are 3-for-11 against the Rangers this season, and the Blueshirts’ PK allowed the Devils to score three times on Saturday.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Jonny Brodzinski
Tye Kartye — Noah Laba — Conor Sheary
Adam Edstrom — Juuso Parssinen — Jaroslav Chmelar
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Will Borgen — Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson — Urho Vaakanainen
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Flyers: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
When: Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena
How to watch: MSG
