The Philadelphia Flyers traveled to Madison Square Garden to take on the Rangers Thursday night in their second game of a back-to-back. Sam Ersson got the start in net. Emil Andrae jumped in on defense, and Noah Juulsen became a healthy scratch. The Flyers trailed by two goals early in the second period, but with help from Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov, they were able to tie it up and send the game to overtime. Michkov’s second goal would seal it for the Flyers. The orange and black improved to 26-21-11 on the season.
Sam Carrick gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at the 9:56 mark of the first period. He grabbed a loose puck along the boards and threw a wrist shot on net from the halfboards. It managed to get through the legs of Ersson. Taylor Raddysh and Will Borgen tallied assists.
Garnet Hathaway and Carrick dropped the gloves at the 16:11 mark of the first. This happened after Hathaway made a big hit on Brennan Othmann. Both players got five each for fighting, but Hathaway picked up a boarding penalty. This gave the Rangers the game’s first power play. The Flyers were able to clear the puck down the ice a few times, and the Rangers didn’t record any shots on net.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead just 1:23 into the second period courtesy of Alexis Lafreniere. Will Cuylle, from below the goal line, made a backwards pass to Lafreniere, and he put a wrist shot past the blocker of Ersson. Cuylle and Vincent Trocheck picked up assists.
The Flyers got their first power play at the 3:29 mark of the second as Othmann was called for cross-checking. The first unit spent the majority of the time in the offensive zone and moved the puck around well. Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin ended up making a big glove save on Noah Cates. Four shots on goal were recorded.
Conor Sheary got called for high-sticking at the 8:27 mark of the second period, which gave the Flyers their second power play. With two seconds remaining, Michkov got the Flyers on the board. He took a pass from Cates, who was at the left circle, and he put a snapshot just past the right skate of Shesterkin. 2-1 Rangers. Cates and Owen Tippett were given assists.
The Rangers went on their second power play at the 11:53 mark of the second as Zegras was called for high-sticking. Ersson made a save on Adam Fox, and Hathaway blocked a shot and had a chance while shorthanded. With 36 seconds remaining, Trocheck got called for interference. This made the game go to four-on-four, and then the Flyers would get an abbreviated power play.
Nothing worth noting happened on the four-on-four, and the Flyers only recorded one shot on net on the abbreviated power play. However, Travis Konecny and Zegras made some nice, quick passes to one another but just couldn’t get anything past Shesterkin.
Zegras tied the game up at two just 39 seconds into the third period. He took a pass from Konecny and then went on a two-on-one with Christian Dvorak. He held on to the puck and put a wrist shot over the blocker of Shesterkin. Assists went to Konecny and Travis Sanheim.
The Flyers went on their fourth power play at the 7:28 mark of the third as Lafreniere was called for slashing. They didn’t record any shots on net as the Rangers got aggressive on the penalty kill. The Rangers also did their job of clearing the puck down the ice to waste time.
Vladislav Gavrikov got called for high-sticking at the 14:40 mark of the third period. This gave the Flyers their fifth power play. Shesterkin made two huge saves on Cates, and Borgen had a chance while shorthanded, but his shot missed wide.
Michkov was called for goaltender interference with nine seconds remaining in the third, which gave the Rangers their third power play. Time ran out, so the Rangers took their power play into overtime. Ersson made a few big saves on Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad, and J.T. Miller, who missed on a shot wide.
The Flyers ultimately won the game at the 2:10 mark of the overtime period. Michkov took a pass from Sean Couturier as he exited the penalty box, got around Miller, and put a wrist shot through the legs of Shesterkin. Couturier and Nick Seeler tallied assists. 3-2 Flyers was the final.
Flyers went one for five on the power play and killed off all three of the Rangers’ man-advantages.
Ersson saved 23 of 25 shots, giving him a .920 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Carrick (4) Assists: Raddysh (6), Borgen (4)
2nd Period:
Lafreniere (13) Assists: Cuylle (15), Trocheck (25)
Michkov (14) (Power Play) Assists: Cates (17), Tippett (17)
3rd Period:
Zegras (21) Assists: Konecny (33), Sanheim (20)
Overtime:
Michkov (15) Assists: Couturier (22), Seeler (6)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Saturday, Feb. 28, in Philadelphia against the Boston Bruins.
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