Rangers respond to ‘The Letter’ by defeating Flyers 6-3: takeaways
When New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said before Saturday’s game against the Flyers in Philadelphia that “we’re going to try to win every game” despite GM Chris Drury’s letter a day earlier announcing a retool, he wasn’t kidding. The Rangers found a team struggling worse than they were and took advantage, riding a hat trick by Mika Zibanejad and the first NHL goal by Brennan Othmann to a 6-3 victory over the reeling Flyers.
Sullivan became the 30th coach in NHL history to reach the 500-win mark as New York ended a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) while extending Philadelphia’s slide to six games (0-5-1). The Flyers were booed heartily for much of the afternoon after the Rangers scored on each of their first three shots, sending goalie Alexei Kolosov to the bench after Othmann’s goal 8:25 into the game made it 3-1.
Zibanejad’s first goal of the afternoon came 59 seconds before Othmann’s and put the Rangers ahead 2-1, a lead they never relinquished. He scored twice more against Samuel Ersson in a 2:47 span of the second period to put the Rangers up 5-1.
Artemi Panarin, a pending unrestricted free agent and the subject of trade talk following reports a day earlier that Drury told him the Rangers won’t offer their leading scorer a new contract, scored twice and had the primary assist on Zibanejad’s power-play goal 5:38 into the second period.
The Rangers gave plenty of support to third-string goaltender Spencer Martin, who got the start after Jonathan Quick allowed six goals in less than two periods of an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Martin finished with 25 saves, 12 of them in the third period when the Flyers dominated play but managed only a goal by Trevor Zegras at 8:01.
It looked like the Rangers might be heading for another loss when Travis Konecny’s goal at 6:22 gave the Flyers the early lead, but Panarin needed just 43 seconds to get the Rangers even, converting a pass from Vincent Trocheck.
Zibanejad’s straightaway wrister from near the blue line found its way through traffic and past Kolosov 21 seconds later, and Othmann finished off a pass from Will Cuylle to put the Rangers up by two. The Flyers left the ice at the end of the period to the same kind of booing the Rangers received during their recent home games.
The two second-period goals completed Zibanejad’s hat trick, and Panarin rifled home a pass from Alexis Lafreniere at 14:31 to extend the lead to 6-1.
Travis Sanheim’s shorthanded goal at 16:48 cut the lead to 6-2, and Zegras’ tally off a scramble gave the Flyers some hope. But Martin was solid the rest of the way, denying Philadelphia on a number of Grade A chances to ensure that there would be smiles on the postgame flight to Southern California, where the Rangers face the Anaheim Ducks on Monday and the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Key takeaways after Rangers polish off Flyers 6-3
Positive response to “The Letter”
Drury’s letter, much like the one sent to fans by team president Glen Sather and GM Jeff Gorton eight years ago, promised major changes. But with three months remaining in the season, the question was how the players and coaches would respond after their GM basically wrote off this season.
It’s hard to imagine a better answer – although it was obviously helpful that the Rangers were playing another struggling team.
“The emotions have been going on for longer than the last two days,” said captain J.T. Miller, who had two assists, three hits and won six of nine face-offs. “It’s unfortunately part of the game. It’s disappointing, for sure. I don’t think four or five months ago this is where we thought we’d be, but we’ve got a job to do, and we need to start moving forward towards the next chapter.
“I was just really proud of the way we played today. There’s obviously a lot of distraction out there
Mika makes history
Zibanejad’s second goal of the game not only continued his hot streak, it also put him alone in the Rangers’ record book for most power-play goals in franchise history. His one-timer from the lower right circle past Ersson was his 117th with the Blueshirts, breaking a three-way tie with Camille Henry and longtime teammate Chris Kreider (Rod Gilbert, the Rangers’ all-time leader in goals with 406, is fourth in PPGs with 108).
It was also Zibanejad’s 20th goal of the season, the 10th time in his career and ninth in a row with the Rangers that he’s scored at least 20.
The hat trick was his ninth with the Blueshirts, tying him for the team record with Bill Cook, an original Ranger and the franchise’s first captain.
Othmann gets off the schneid
The Rangers’ first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in 2021 needed 34 games over parts of three seasons to do it, but he finally owns an NHL goal. Othmann ended his 0-fer by firing a pass from Will Cuylle past Kolosov to finish off a 3-on-1 rush and give New York a 3-1 lead.
“It feels great. Selfishly, it was something I really wanted,” he told MSG’s John Gianone after the first period. “It was awesome to get that one, and hopefully I’ll keep going.”
Othmann hit the post twice in the Rangers’ 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Monday, and he admitted that finally putting the puck in the net was “a huge weight off my shoulders.”
He credited Cuylle, who carried the puck down left wing before making a pass through the seam that caught him in stride.
“’Cools’ made a great play,” Othmann said. “It feels really good to get it out of the way.”
Panarin’s situation
Drury’s letter said the Rangers and their fans could be “saying goodbye to players that have brought us and our fans great moments throughout the years.”
Panarin could be at the top of the list. He has a no-move clause in his contract — meaning that the Rangers can’t just trade him to anyone. But the team reportedly approached the Breadman and his agent about where No. 10 might want to be traded.
In the meantime, he said, he’ll do his best for the Rangers
“It’s hard to say how I feel,” he said. “I’m still confused, but the GM decided to go in a different direction. I’m OK with that. I’m a Ranger player right now, so I’ll play every game 100 percent.”
When the media tried to follow up, Panarin replied that, “I actually said everything I want to say about this situation. Let’s talk about hockey.”
