Early in the third period, the Flyers had finally solved the Rangers and got on the board with the game-tying goal. It felt like a just reward for a strong effort from start to finish. A deflection goal put the Rangers back up minutes later, and they leaned on their goaltender to take care of the rest.
The Flyers late push came up short, as they fell to the Rangers, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
The game immediately started with pace, as the Flyers got the first four shots of the opening period. Nick Deslauriers and Matt Rempe dropped the gloves in a spirited heavyweight fight that increased the emotion. Both teams generated chances throughout the opening 20 minutes, but both goaltenders were up to the task.
Through 20 minutes, shots were 18-9 Flyers.
For more than half the period, the Flyers continued to defend well and prevent quality opportunities. They killed off an early Rangers power play, then killed another 2:50 of power-play time for the Rangers before a penalty created a 4-on-4 for 1:10.
During the 4-on-4, the Rangers finally struck. Off a rush, Alexis Lafreniere beat Sam Ersson through the five-hole for his 17th goal of the season at 11:56.
Through two periods, shots were 23-19 Flyers.
The Flyers came out firing again in the third period, matching their shot total from the second period in just over two minutes. At 2:36, they found the equalizer.
Scott Laughton managed to stay with the play as he was falling down and center a pass for Tyson Foerster in front. Foerster scored his 11th goal of the season to make it 1-1.
The Rangers had a quick answer. At 6:31, a distance shot by Braden Schneider deflected off the stick of Barclay Goodrow and then the leg of Rempe, deflecting between the legs of Ersson to make it 2-1. It was Rempe’s first NHL goal.
The Flyers threw everything they had at the Rangers in the final minutes, finishing the third period with 17 shots. Igor Shesterkin took care of business, stopping 16 of them and finishing the day with 40 saves on 41 shots.
Ersson made 22 saves on 24 shots.
The Flyers are back on the ice on Sunday afternoon to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at 3:30 p.m.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Rangers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Flyers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- No Scoring
2nd Period
- NYR Alexis Lafreniere (17) (Vincent Trocheck, K’Andre Miller) 11:56
3rd Period
- PHI Tyson Foerster (11) (Scott Laughton, Travis Sanheim) 2:36
- NYR Matt Rempe (1) (Barclay Goodrow, Braden Schneider) 6:31
Game Statistics
| Rangers | Flyers | |
| Shots | 24 | 40 |
| Power Play | 0/5 | 0/4 |
| Hits | 27 | 19 |
| Faceoff % | 37% | 63% |
| Giveaways | 9 | 8 |
| Takeaways | 1 | 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 18 | 20 |
| Penalty Minutes | 13 | 15 |
