Playing four games in five days can be taxing on any team. In the preseason, there is no need for a team's regulars to be burned out that early.
So with the B team dressed for the second straight, the Rangers were able to power their way to a win as the Flyers fell for the second straight night by a score of 6-3 at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers stormed out of the gate for three early goals. Anthony Duclair, Ryan Haggerty and Jesper Fast all scored in a span of four minutes to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.
The Flyers struck for their first goal at 1:20 of the second period, as Taylor Leier beat Henrik Lundqvist on a wraparound. The Rangers quickly struck back as Haggerty netted his second goal of the game at 6:48.
Jason Akeson scored on a nice pass from Zac Rinaldo at 9:41 to cut the lead to two again. But again, the Rangers would answer as Chris Mueller beat Steve Mason on a rebound for a power-play goal at 14:18.
The Flyers would cut the lead to two again in the third as Shayne Gostisbehere found the back of the net for his second goal of the preseason. But Fast would pick up his second goal of the game at 16:10 to ice the game.
The Flyers were out-shot, 37-25, in the game and struggled once again to get chances early in the game. The Rangers had a 12-1 shot advantage at one point in the first. At the end of the first, shots were 14-5 in favor of the Rangers.
The Rangers also scored on their lone power play of the night, following a cross-checking penalty to Sam Morin. The Flyers were 0-for-1 on the power play.
Lundqvist stopped 22 of 25 shots he faced in the game. Mason made 31 saves while allowing six goals.
The Flyers return home to face the Rangers again on Tuesday night. They will then close out the preseason by traveling to Washington to face the Capitals on Thursday.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
