Talbot, Rangers Take Care Of Flyers At Home

New York Rangers: 2 Philadelphia Flyers: 0

FIRST PERIOD: Early on, the Rangers surprised me with their sluggishness, as I expected them to come out with a lot of pep in their step after getting embarrassed by Callahan and the Lightning. Soon enough, the Rangers started to generate scoring opportunities. After Hunwick was stopped on an odd man rush, the Rangers went to work in the Flyers’ zone. After cycling the puck for quite some time, Hagelin found Kevin Klein in the slot and Klein wired his 4th goal of the season past Mason to give the Rangers the lead. On a side note, I found it ironic how Simmonds was way out of position Klein’s goal and he was also the one who took a shot at NY and their fans prior to the game. Cam Talbot was strong when needed to be, coming up with big saves on Giroux and Streit on the penalty kill and on the league leader in points(26), Jakub Voracek, on an abbreviated breakaway. Mason also stood tall as he was forced to bail out his defense multiple times after several defensive zone give-aways. Mason also recorded a big stop on his former teammate in Columbus, Rick Nash, as he streaked up the ice shorthanded and tried to tuck it in on the forehand. The Rangers got the job done on the penalty kill too, which is encouraging because the Flyers entered tonight’s contest scoring 6 times out of their last 14 power play opportunites. The Flyers sustained pressure for the latter part of the period and eventually Girardi was called for tripping on Matt Read, who was effective defensively in the 1st, at 18:54. Overall, the Rangers did a satisfactory job of limiting glaring scoring chances and keeping the talented Flyers forwards to the outside.

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SECOND PERIOD:

More of the same from a Rangers standpoint in the 2nd. Right in the opening minutes Zuccarello hit the pipe after a beautiful passing sequence from Stepan and St. Louis. The Rangers were able to continue their up-tempo, north-south game and

was called for slashing along the boards at 7:07. The Rangers were surgical on the man-advantage, as Stepan whipped a pass to St. Louis who went cross crease to find Nash for the tap in. The goal was Nash’s 13th of the year, putting him at 2nd for the league leaders in goals. The majority of the period was marred by neutral zone play with a couple solid shifts from the Rangers sprinkled in.

showcased his facilitating abilities for the Garden faithful, he was very impressive at keeping the puck in the zone and knowing when to unload on a slapper or play it back behind the net. However, the story of the second period was

hands down. Constantly you’d hear NBC Sports announcer Doc Emerick cry “Another save by Mason!”. The Flyers hung around up to this point behind the play of Mason.

, Dan Boyle, and Zuccarello were all robbed of Grade-A scoring opportunites. On the other end of the rink, Talbot was steady once again, coming up with gigantic saves on Lecavalier in all alone, and Simmonds with the right pad extended. Speaking of Simmonds, he collided with Mason after being chased by Glass. Mason was down for a few moments, clearly shaken up, but seemed to be ok.

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THIRD PERIOD:

In the third, both Mason and Talbot continued their stellar play. Mason stopped Stepan on a 2 on 1 rush early on to keep his team within striking distance. The Rangers were aggressive on theforecheck but Brassard was a little too over zealous and took a tripping penalty at 4:37. This was a grand opportunity for Philadelphia to get a goal early in the period and build on it but the Rangers wanted none of it. They killed off this crucial penalty , holding the Flyers to one shot and a few shorthanded chances of their own. Fans got a nice look at the power play (with Boyle) as

took a tripping penalty at 9:45 and then

for kneeing at 11:34. The PP looked relaxed and fluid, something us Rangers fans aren’t accustomed to. For stretches during the PP and during even strength, the Rangers were just firing away on Mason as the tired Flyers d-men stood flat-footed. The Flyers started to up their intensity towards the end of the game, so head coach

made the gutsty call to pull Mason with 3:33 left. From that point onward, it was “Talbot Time” at MSG. He started off with a shoulder/mask save on Lecavalier sliding right to left, then a glove save on Streit through traffic, followed up by another one on Giroux through a maze of players with Lecavalier standing right over him. After the Rangers took a timeout at 2:49, Talbot picked up right where he left off. He turned aside a quick wrister from Voracek, and stoned Streit two more times, leaving Streit looking up to the rafters in disbelief. The fans gave Talbot and the Rangers a standing ovation as the clock ran out and Voracek even gave Talbot a little tap of appreciation on his way to the locker room.

Talbot made 31 saves to register his 4th career shutout, Mason had 34 saves on 36 shots. Shots were 34-31 in favor of the Rangers, with the Flyers getting the majority of their shots in the final minutes. Faceoffs were very even, The Rangers had 34 compared to the Flyers’ 33. This win now gives the Rangers 20 points as they look ahead to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
1. Cam Talbot
2. Rick Nash
3. Steve Mason