It's no surprise, by any stretch of the imagination, that one of the toughest eggs for the Flyers to crack over the past decade (and more) has been Henrik Lundqvist. With a 20-4-1 record against the Orange and Black headed into Tuesday's matchup, his odds were still good, even if the Flyers had some steam and the Rangers were low.
Lundqvist turned in a solid effort, with 25 saves, and got plenty of help from Rick Nash and the offense in a 5-1 rout of the Flyers, ending their four-game win streak. Though speculation continues to be fueled that Lundqvist could find himself off Broadway soon, he turned in a vintage performance, as did Nash.
Nash, who entered the game with a 12-game goalless drought, scored once on a breakaway in the 1st and tallied again in the 2nd period. It's the second time this season he's recorded a two-goal game, and third time in his career that he did it against the Flyers.
Jordan Weal got the Flyers off to a fast start, tipping home a Radko Gudas shot just 2:06 after the first puck dropped. Nash followed suit with his first, though, and J.T. Miller followed up on a power play with a tip-in of his own.
The real backbreaker came with just 9.4 seconds on the clock, though, as Paul Carey found twine on a shorthanded breakaway to make it a 3-1 game. Not only were the Flyers down by two, they yielded goals at even strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill.
Midway through the second period, Michael Grabner picked Jakub Voracek's pocket in the neutral zone and tallied on a partial breakaway, stretching the Rangers' lead to three and scoring 20 goals for the fourth time in his career. Nash netted his second with 2:32 left in the period, making it even more daunting for the Orange and Black.
Brian Elliott had stopped just 16 of 21 shots, before being yanked at the end of the 2nd period. Michael Neuvirth stopped all eight shots he faced in relief.
In addition to snapping the Flyers' streak, the Rangers end a three-game losing skid of their own. Sean Couturier's multi-goal game streak ends at three as well.
The Flyers return to action on Thursday, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs for Eric Lindros retirement night.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Flyers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rangers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- PHI Jordan Weal (6) (Radko Gudas, Wayne Simmonds) 2:06
- NYR Rick Nash (10) (Pavel Buchnevich) 6:30
- NYR J.T. Miller (9) (PP) (Ryan McDonagh, David Desharnais) 16:50
- NYR Paul Carey (6) (SH) (Peter Holland) 19:50
2nd Period
- NYR Michael Grabner (20) 10:48
- NYR Rick Nash (11) (Marc Staal) 17:28
3rd Period
- None
Game Statistics
| Flyers | Rangers | |
| Shots | 26 | 29 |
| Power Plays | 0/3 | 1/2 |
| Hits | 20 | 30 |
| Faceoff % | 53% | 47% |
| Giveaways | 9 | 12 |
| Takeaways | 3 | 4 |
| Blocked Shots | 6 | 13 |
| Penalty Minutes | 4 | 6 |
