There is something special brewing with the New York Rangers right now and it will continue tonight in Philadelphia against the Flyers.
What a time to be a New York Rangers fan right now. The rebuild has developed a lot quicker than most predicted, with this team doing incredible things on the ice night in and night out.
It has been a roller coaster of a week which started with the bombshell news that Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Buchnevich were involved in a car crash, before it was announced that Chris Kreider had committed his future to the franchise followed by the news that Brady Skjei had been traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Focus then switched to matters on the ice and the Rangers, unflustered by the emotional blender they had just been in, ripped off a playoff-like win against the New York Islanders before performing more heroics in Montreal against the Canadiens last night.
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There are no words for what this team is doing right now and, whatever happens this year, we can all be confident about the current path the Blueshirts are on.
And the thrill ride continues in the City of Brotherly Love tonight as the Rangers take on a team with one of the best home records in the NHL.
The Flyers, under the guidance of former NYR Head Coach Alain Vigneault, have a 22-5-4 record at Wells Fargo Center, putting them in playoff contention.
They are a big, physical team with a fair amount of skill too and the Rangers will have to watch out for an old friend in Kevin Hayes who has really found his game with the Flyers.
All in all, this should be a mouthwatering showdown between two teams who will be hoping to still be battling come the middle of April.
This is also the first game of a home-and-home double-header this weekend, with the Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, so expect both teams to try and set the tone early tonight.
This Season
Tonight’s match-up is the second meeting of the season series between the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.
The first contest was also at Wells Fargo Center and it was one to forget for the Blueshirts, who were pummelled 5-1 by the Flyers with Jesper Fast scoring the only goal of the game for the Rangers.