New York Rangers looking for more history on the road against the Flyers

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 25: Scott Laughton #21, Kevin Hayes #13 and Travis Konecny #11 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrate goal as Aaron Dell #30 of the San Jose Sharks skates away in the second period at Wells Fargo Center on February 25, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

About the Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers have been knocking on the door of being a playoff team for a couple of years, but they have lurched from one extreme to the other in terms of consistency or lack of it.

As a result, the Flyers decided to turn to someone in the off-season who knows a thing or two about getting teams to the postseason, hiring former Rangers Head Coach Alain Vigneault.

And, so far so good. Vigneault has got the best out of this team so far and they are currently third in the Metro Division, right in the mix with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals.

Key to their success has been their stellar play on home ice, 22-5-4 at Wells Fargo Center although they have been shaky on the road.

The Flyers are a below-average 14-15-3 away from the comforts of their own building, and that must be frustrating considering how much better off they could be if they figure out how to navigate life on the road.

As you would expect for a team managed by Vigneault, the Flyers are a big, heavy team although they do boast a fair amount of skill.

For instance, skilled winger Travis Konecny leads the team in points with 57 (22 assists, 35 points), while two-way forward Sean Couturier has exploded with 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points.

But the play of Kevin Hayes will be of most interest to Rangers fans, with the forward having a productive year with 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points.

Furthermore, the Flyers are 17-0-1 this year when Hayes has scored, which means keeping the former Blueshirt off the scoresheet tonight must be a priority.

Philadelphia, while not major buyers at the Trade Deadline, did add some more grit with forwards Nate Thompson and Derek Grant.

If the Flyers are to be successful this year then they will do so by being aggressive and tough to play against, while they have skilled game-changers who can hurt any team.

Plus, in Carter Hart, the Flyers have one of the best young goalies in the entire NHL and the 21-year-old is 20-12-3 this year with a 2.51 Goals Against Average and a .909 Save Percentage.

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