New York Rangers prevail over the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in the City of Brotherly Love
By Conor Power
Two organizations clashed with former coaches of the other team at the helm. John Torterella's Philadelphia Flyers and Peter Laviolette's New York Rangers saw the two coaches that won the Stanley Cup either side of the 2005 season lost to lockout go toe-to-toe on Broad Street in the City of Brotherly Love. It was a strong performance between the two netminders that took to the ice for these teams.
New York would strike first on a four-on-four. Vincent Trocheck was allowed to carry the puck up the ice and forces Joel Farabee to turn, creating space for the supporting cast around him. Alexis Lafreniere would recieve the pass from Trocheck and fired a puck towards Samuel Ersson. Whether Sean Walker screened Ersson or it just beat him, Lafreniere's shot found a hole to squeak through and it is a 1-0 Ranger lead with about 8 minutes to go in the second period.
Early in the third, the Flyers would fight back as Scott Laughton took the puck around the net and blew a tire as Igor Shesterkin was pressed against the left post. Both netminder and player seemed to fall on their way to the other side of the net, but the puck trickled onto the blade of Tyson Foerster, and he could jam it under the arm of Shesterkin to tie the game up at one goal each.
Four minutes later, the Rangers would put the puck in again. Braden Schneider through the puck from the point, and it was tipped by Barclay Goodrow out in front towards the pads of Ersson. It looked like a simple save until it hit Matt Rempe's knee on the crease, dropped off his skate, found a way through a hole in Ersson, and made it a 2-1 lead. The not-so-gentle giant got his first NHL point on the play.
The Rangers would hold on for the win despite Sean Couturier having a wide-open cage and hitting the post. It means the Blueshirts have won 10 in a row, tying a franchise record set in 1939-40 and matched again in 1972-73. It's the second-longest winning streak in the NHL this season, second to only the 16-game winning streak the Oilers had. It's that kind of night as we enjoy another win for the Blueshirts.