Mika Zibanejad, Rangers have way with Flyers in 6-2 rout: takeaways
If only the New York Rangers played all 82 games this season against the Philadelphia Flyers, perhaps they’d be a real playoff contender. Alas, that’s not the case, of course. But the Rangers did finish off a lopsided season series Monday night by blitzing the Flyers 6-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Rangers finished 3-0-1 against the Flyers, snagging seven of a possible eight points. They scored six goals in each of the two games played in Philly and have now won eight of their past nine in this building.
Unfortunately for the Rangers (25-30-8), the reality is that they’re still last in the Eastern Conference. But exposing their division rivals as more playoff pretender than contender made for a feel-good night.
Nine Rangers landed on the score sheet and seven recorded multi-point games, led by Mika Zibanejad (two goals, one assist) and Vincent Trocheck (three assists), who each had three points.
Tye Kartye scored his first goal with the Rangers; and Noah Laba, Gabe Perreault, and Alexis Lafreniere scored the other goals.
Igor Shesterkin finished with 32 saves for the Rangers, who knocked Dan Vladar out of the game with six goals on 24 shots through two periods.
The Rangers blitzed the Flyers in the first period, taking a 3-0 lead. Then they buried Philly with three more goals in the second to secure a 6-1 advantage.
Laba got things going for the visitors just 1:04 into the contest, chipping in a rebound for his first goal in 15 games, following a strong forecheck by New York’s third line.
Zibanejad’s line then followed suit, with Perreault getting in hard on the forecheck to set up the next goal. Lafreniere picked up the loose puck behind the Flyers net after Perreault caused a turnover and zipped a pass into the slot for Zibanejad, who made no mistake for his first goal of the night at 13:07.
Then with under a minute to play in the first period, Zibanejad returned the favor, setting up Lafreniere between the circles for a nasty one-timer on the power play to make it 3-0.
The Flyers breathed a little life back into their building when Matvei Michkov scored a power-play goal at 3:54 of the second period. He scored off a rebound, only after showing some great hands to maneuver around Shesterkin in tight for his 16th goal.
Less than three minutes later, the Rangers restored their three-goal lead with another power-play goal. This one was scored by Perreault in front, after a nice look by Trocheck, whose shot/pass started the sequence leading to the rookie’s sixth goal.
The Rangers dropped the hammer on their division rivals with two goals 20 seconds apart in the closing minutes of the period. Zibanejad scored his team-high 27th goal, burying a slick behind-the-back pass from Perreault for another power-play tally at 18:40.
Before the Flyers could get to their dressing room and escape the boos inside the rink, Kartye neatly deflected Vladislav Gavrikov’s long shot into the net to make it 6-1.
The Flyers pushed in the third period, outshooting the Rangers 13-3. Shesterkin held them at bay until Sean Couturier rifled a one-timer into the net from the slot at 15:28.
Key takeaways after Rangers defeat Flyers 6-2
Mika feasts on Flyers
Zibanejad will be sorry not to face the Flyers again until next season. The 32-year-old finished the season series with eight points (six goals, two assists) in four games. Five of those six goals came in Philly, as this two-goal effort followed his hat trick in a 6-3 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Jan. 17.
But Zibanejad need not fret. It’s not just this season when he’s feasted on the Flyers. He now has 25 goals and 50 points in 52 career games against Philly, and this was his sixth career game with three points against the Flyers. He has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his past nine games against them.
Then again, Zibanejad had his way with most opponents this season. Zibanejad now leads the Rangers with 27 goals, 59 points (he passed Artemi Panarin, who was traded in early February to the Los Angeles Kings), 13 power-play goals, and 25 power-play points in 62 games this season. His next point will be No. 800 in his career.
Save of the game
Speaking about having a team’s number, Shesterkin has that with the Flyers. He’s now 11-4-2 all-time against them, with a 2.25 goals-against average.
It shouldn’t be overlooked how good he was in the victory Monday either. Yes, the Rangers provided Shesterkin plenty of goal support, but made some important stops before this one got out of hand. In fact, he made a crucial play at 14:55 of the first period.
With the Rangers leading 2-0 and on the power play, they allowed a clean short-handed breakaway by Christian Dvorak. As the hulking center drove to the net and made his move, Shesterkin alertly jabbed his stick out for a perfectly-timed poke check. A shorty there could’ve changed the game’s tenor. Shesterkin made sure that didn’t happen.
The win was his 20th this season, making it five straight seasons reaching that total. He’s 3-0-2 in five starts after missing 13 in a row with a lower-body injury.
Kids step up
Perreault is really growing up in front of our eyes. The 20-year-old rookie had his second multi-point outing in the past four games, and third in 30 games this season. The way he thinks the game and his high-end skill stand out, and his confidence is growing by the day. The 2023 first-round pick looks the part of a talented first-rounder, and now has serious chemistry growing with Zibanejad and Lafreniere. And seeing him go to the net to score again Monday certainly must make coach Mike Sullivan very happy.
Sully also must be thrilled that Perreault wasn’t the only kid standing out in this game. Laba and Kartye were an absolute pain in the butt to play against, if you were wearing a Flyers sweater Monday. Tenacious on the forecheck, winning board battles, getting to the net, Laba and Kartye each was rewarded with a goal and an assist.
Also, rookie defenseman Matthew Robertson had an assist on the first goal of the game and logged just under 20 minutes TOI on his 25th birthday.
And oh, what the heck — let’s include the 24-year-old Lafreniere in this mix, even though he’s in his sixth NHL season. He really picked up his production since the Panarin trade, and was a noticeable force again all night against the Flyers. His goal and assist give Lafreniere 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games.
