Another game, another win as Rangers beat Flyers 4-1

Notes on the game

With a goal and an assist, Artemi Panarin took over the team scoring lead with 23 points.

Adam Fox assisted on Hunt’s goal and he moved into a tie with John Carlson for the league lead in defenseman scoring with 22 points.  He played 21:24, second to Jacob Trouba.

When Fox took the delay of game penalty it was the first penalty for the Rangers this season for shooting a puck into the stands.  Last season they took four such penalties and the year before they took nine.

For Dryden Hunt, it was the first game misconduct for a Ranger this season.  It’s a question of whether the league will review it and levy any further punishment. He has never been fined or suspended.

It appears that Barclay Goodrow escaped serious injury with a cut above the eye.

The Rangers have scored three power play goals in their last 10 times with the man advantage. They killed all twelve penalties in their last three games.

With a 5-1 record, the Rangers have taken 10 of 12 possible points from games against Metropolitan Division teams.  Their record against Eastern Conference teams is 12-2-0.   The Rangers, Panthers and Flames are the only clubs with 12 wins against teams in their own Conference.

Kaapo Kakko had two assists and now has three goals and five assists in his last seven games after going scoreless in his first 10 games.

Ryan Strome had his eight-game point scoring streak stopped.

The Rangers won 49% of the faceoffs with Mika Zibanejad leading the way, winning nine of 13.  They are slowly improving and are now 30th in the league.  Hey, it’s better than 31st, where they have been most of the season.

A turning point in the game was when it looked like the Rangers’ Kevin Rooney had scored a third goal on a two-on-one.  The play was ruled offside, but video showed that the call was incorrect.  One question is whether Carter Hart relaxed when he saw the linesman call the offside because he made no move to stop the puck.  It was a blown call, but not necessarily a sure goal.

Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves for a .971 Save Percentage.  He was particularly good during the major penalty, stopping seven Flyers shots.  He heard the “Igor” chant repeatedly and talked about it after the game, saying the important thing was to not cry.<

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Offensively, the teams were evenly matched 5v5.  The Rangers had 37 shot attempts to the Flyers’ 41. The Rangers actually had more scoring chances and more high danger chances.   It was the power play where there was a huge disparity. The Flyers had 21 shot attempts with the man advantage while the Rangers had only four. Of course, the Rangers had the only power play goal.

Losing Hunt resulted in a jumble of linemates.  Barclay Goodrow was double shifted until his injury and from that point on, it was anyone’s guess of who would be playing on what line.

The Rangers have gone into the third period with a lead nine times and have not lost in regulation, going 7-0-2.   Since 2010-11 they have gone into the third period with the lead 311 times and lost in regulation only 10 times.

The Rangers are also very tough when they score first. They have tallied the first goal in 11 games and are 9-0-2.

Chris Kreider brings them luck.  When he scores a goal, the Rangers record is 10-1-2.  Three of the Rangers four losses have come when Kreider was skunked.