Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
The Flyers/Rangers game had a little bit of everything. There was rough stuff, some goals, a 2-on-0 short-handed breakaway chance, literally everything in just a 2-1 Rangers victory.
Nic Deslauriers and Matt Rempe got things started. They fought each other with an Ole’s fashioned dog fight, “Really important guy for us, D-Lo. That was a good Ole’ fashioned hockey fight there,” John Tortorella said following the loss.
“That stuff goes a long way throughout a room,” Scott Laughton said of Nic Deslauriers ‘s fight. “I don’t know if I have played with a tougher guy than him. Him and Simmer are neck and neck there.”
“I saw him kind of lurking in the warmups,” Nic Deslauriers saud of setting the tone for the matchup. “I’m a guy that doesn’t take no for an answer often, so just went politely, ‘Are we going to do this?'”
The Rangers scored first, but the Flyers kept pushing and pushing. They were determined to even the score, and they did eventually. In the third period of play Tyson Foerster knotted the game up at 1 with his 11th goal of the season. It was his first game back after missing 12 days with a minor lower body injury.
Shortly thereafter, the Flyers had a 2-on-0 breakaway, a short-handed one, featuring Travis Sanheim and Scott Laughton as the trailer. Sanheim’s shot was stuffed by Igor Shesterkin, as he ended being the difference maker in this tilt.
Travis Konecny was sorely missed, as the Flyers could not finish golden opportunities, even the Captain Sean Couturier couldn’t stuff home an open net with a few seconds remaining in the third period that would have sent the game to overtime. Couturier was wide open at the side of the net, he tried stuffing home the open net, but the puck slid across the crease.
Believe it or not, the Flyers outshot the Rangers and largely outplayed them, minus their best player in Konecny. The Flyers fired 40 shots on net, as compared to the Rangers 24. Hopefully, the Flyers either recall a red hot Bobby Brink from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as he has 10 points (6g,4a) in 10 games played.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
Cool Matvei Michkov merchandise
One last thing this game featured the second time a Flyers Goaltender should have come to the aid of their players. Igor Shesterkin hit Garnet Hathaway a few times as he tried stuffing home a puck. The whistle did not sound, thus he kept trying to tuck the goal home. If that was the late Ray Emery Shesterkin would have ended up on the ice.
