Wayne Simmonds recorded a hat trick for the Flyers as Philadelphia beat the New York Rangers 5-2 in game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Erik Gustafsson also scored for the Flyers while Claude Giroux recorded a goal and two assists. Steve Mason was stellar in net, stopping 34-36. Carl Hagelin scored the lone New York goal.
Henrik Lundqvist allowed four goals on 23 shots and was pulled following the second period. Cam Talbot entered the net for the Rangers in the third period and stopped all five shots he faced.
Philadelphia appeared to come out tentative while New York was flying. The Rangers continued to force turnovers inside the Flyers defensive zone, but were continually turned away by Mason. The Flyers finally got going, as they went on the power play early in the first period.
At the 7:08 mark, Simmonds potted his first goal of the night. The power forward took the puck at the goal line and beat New York's all-world goaltender. Giroux and Scott Hartnell were credited with assists. Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead into the second period, and that is when the Flyers took control of the game. Just 1:32 into the second period, Simmonds recorded his second goal of the game off a feed from Brayden Schenn. Once again stationed at the "doorstep," Simmonds found himself the beneficiary of an easy goal.
The Flyers would continue to fly around the ice and force the Rangers into turnovers. Philadelphia killed the New York power plays by taking a page out of the Ranger playbook: blocking shot after shot.
Following a Gustafsson "high sticking" penalty, the defenseman left the box as the Braydon Coburn cleared the zone. The defenseman corralled the puck and beat Lundqvist on the breakaway to give Philadelphia a 3-0 lead with 5:43 remaining in the second period. Just over one minute later, Simmonds would record his second power play goal and complete the hat trick to give the Flyers a 4-0 lead as they entered the third period.
The third period was all Steve Mason. The Flyers' new franchise goaltender stood on his head, routinely making highlight reel saves. Despite Mason's heroics, the Rangers were able to ruin the Flyers shutout with just 6:34 remaining in the game as Hagelin beat the Philadelphia goaltender. Claude Giroux put the game away with an empty net goal with just over four minutes remaining.
Penalty Summary
First Period
5:23 – Benoit Pouliot – Holding
8:52 – Braydon Coburn – Cross checking
Second Period
6:10 – Sean Couturier – Hooking
12:11 – Erik Gustafsson – High sticking
14:28 – Derek Dorsett – Tripping
19:57 – Wayne Simmonds – Roughing
Third Period
2:06 – Scott Hartnell – Cross checking
2:06 – Derek Dorsett – Unsportsmanlike
7:37 – Andrew MacDonald – Hooking
9:27 – Mats Zuccarello – Roughing
18:23 – Adam Hall – Fighting (Major)
18:23 – Brian Boyle – Fighting (Major)
19:03 – Wayne Simmonds – 10 minute misconduct
Scoring Summary
First Period
7:08 – Wayne Simmonds, (PP, 2) – Assists – Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell
Second Period
1:32 – Wayne Simmonds, (3) – Assist – Brayden Schenn
14:17 – Erik Gustafsson, (1) – Assist – Braydon Coburn
15:19 – Wayne Simmonds, (PP, 3) – Assists = Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux
Third Period
13:26 – Carl Hagelin (2) – Assists – Anton Stralman, Brad Richards
15:49 – Claude Giroux (2) – Unassisted
19:03 – Mats Zuccarello (2) – Assists – Benoit Pouliot, J.T. Miller
