IMAGE COURTESY OF AMY IRVIN
Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Rangers, Game 2 (New York leads 1-0), 12:00pm, NBC
The Philadelphia Flyers find themselves down 1-0 in the opening round of the playoffs after a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Although they were tied 1-1 in the third period, an unforunate double minor and a complete collapse led to a loss in the opening tilt of the series. Four unanswered goals and only one shot in the last period leave the Flyers looking for a second chance to grab a win at MSG before heading back to the Wells Fargo Center.
Since the game was tied at one with 12:25 left in regulation, the easy person to blame for the loss was Jason Akeson, who was hit with a game-costing double minor for high sticking. Brad Richards and Derek Stepan scored on the man advantage for New York to make it a two-goal game with just 10:51 left in regulation. Carl Hagelin made it a three-goal game with 4:08 left in the contest to put the game away.
Yes, the penalty could have been avoided, but the rookie was having a fine game before the incident, as he finished with a fifth of the Flyers' total shots on net with three. Considering Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Vincent Lecavalier combined for zero shots on net, perhaps the first source of blame for defeat shouldn't be the player making his NHL playoff debut in just his third NHL game to date. Not to mention that same rookie led the team in Corsi for percentage in the game, which indicates the Flyers had their best offensive pressure when the young forward was on the ice.
Another source of blame from the loss seemed to be Ray Emery, who made over twice as many saves as Henrik Lundqvist. Although Emery gave up a big rebound on Mats Zuccarello's goal in the first period, Braydon Coburn was quite out of position. It's safe to say if Coburn was in position he would have easily cleared the rebound away and the goal would have been avoided altogether. After the Rangers' two power-play goals, both of which were difficult cross-ice plays to deny, Emery's lone goal of blame was Hagelin's tally. As a backup netminder, Emery's job was to just give his team a chance to win, which he did. It's difficult to blame a loss where a team was outshot 36-15 solely on the backup goalie that kept the game tied until halfway through the third period.
As for the play of the team, the Flyers held their own in the first period, but seemed to rely on Emery and the defense too much in the second period before the third period meltdown. The top line of Giroux, Voracek, and Scott Hartnell failed to provide any chances, while the line of Lecavalier, Adam Hall, and Zac Rinaldo didn't do much better. Michael Raffl had three shots on net to help his line with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds produce some offensive production, while Akeson's line with Sean Couturier and Matt Read provided a similar output. It was an all-around poor offensive showing for the Orange and Black, as there were no noteworthy scoring chances other than Andrew MacDonald's goal in the first period.
One thing the Flyers' can attempt to duplicate was their defensive play in the first period of Thursday's loss. Although they were outshot 14-6 in the opening frame, the Flyers didn't give the Rangers too many chances to score, as several of New York's shots came from the perimeter. Since the Rangers' will most likely be dictating play at five-on-five, Philly will need to cut down on New York's ability to provide scoring chances as much as possible. If they can keep the Rangers to the outside and provide a successful counterattack, the Flyers might be able to snap their nine-game losing streak at MSG and head back to Philly in a 1-1 series.
The idea to keep the Rangers to the perimeter is also a good idea since Emery will be in net for Game 2. The former Chicago Blackhawk proved he can let the Flyers stay in the game even when the team is being drastically outshot. If the Flyers can limit the amount of difficult stops Emery needs to make and helps the goalie with rebounds, the Orange and Black may be able to win a War of Attrition.
Another thing that obviously needs to improve is special teams' play. On top of going 0-for-1 on the man advantage, the Flyers allowed two power-play goals at the most important time of the game. Even if the Flyers allowed only one power-play goal during Akeson's double minor, the game would have still realistically been within reach. However, two goals 47 seconds apart essentially handed the game to New York.
Going back to Akeson, it seems as though Craig Berube will be turning to the young forward to play alongside Couturier and Read in Game 2. There was a possibility that the head coach may turn to another option, such as Tye McGinn, to take Akeson's place to make a point that undisciplined plays won't be accepted. However, it is hard to deny that Akeson helped Couturier and Read form a line that showed up on Thursday night.
After today's contest, the teams will head to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Friday.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Hartnell – Claude Giroux – Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl – Brayden Schenn – Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read – Sean Couturier – Jason Akeson
Zac Rinaldo – Vincent Lecavalier – Adam Hall
Kimmo Timonen – Braydon Coburn
Mark Streit – Nicklas Grossmann
Andrew MacDonald – Luke Schenn
Ray Emery
Steve Mason
New York Rangers
Martin St. Louis – Derek Stepan – Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin – Brad Richards – Jesper Fast
Benoit Pouliot – Derick Brassard – Mats Zuccarello
Brian Boyle – Dominic Moore – Derek Dorsett
Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
Anton Stralman – Marc Staal
John Moore – Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist
Cam Talbot
POINTS LEADERS
Philadelphia Flyers
Andrew MacDonald – 1 (1 goal)
Scott Hartnell – 1 (1 assist)
New York Rangers
Brad Richards – 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists)
Martin St. Louis – 2 points (2 assists)
Derek Stepan – 1 point (1 goal)
Mats Zuccarello – 1 point (1 goal)
Carl Hagelin – 1 point (1 goal)
Rick Nash – 1 point (1 assist)
Benoit Pouliot – 1 point (1 assist)
Jesper Fast – 1 point (1 assist)
Marc Staal – 1 point (1 assist)
