Three reasons why the Flyers beat the Rangers, 4-3
A hustle play on defense by Claude Giroux, better play 5-on-5 and balanced scoring helped the Flyers avenge last Thursday's loss to the Blueshirts.
Sifting through the rubble for three inconspicuous reasons the Flyers were able to beat the Rangers on Wednesday night.
Here goes:
The other things ‘G’ did
Claude Giroux was the first star largely because of his three assists, but among his other contributions was winning 8 of 11 faceoffs, putting on enough heat to register a season-high eight shots on goal, and a subtle defensive move on Mika Zibanejad’s breakaway with less than four minutes left.
Zibanejad was in alone shorthanded with Giroux trailing by a half-step. Rather than take whacks at Zibanejad and draw a penalty, Giroux stayed on Zibanejad’s right side and forced him to take a backhand attempt which Brian Elliott turned aside. Knowing the time (3:40 remaining), place and score (Flyers up 4-3), Giroux allowed his goaltender to make the game-saving play rather than give the Rangers multiple chances to tie it with either a penalty shot or a two-minute power play.
» READ MORE: Claude Giroux sparks Flyers’ 4-3 win over Rangers after he returns from COVID-19 absence
The Main Corsi
The Corsi For percentage measures full-strength effectiveness, and the Flyers were 55.6% against the Rangers, their second-highest of the season. Two of the Rangers’ three goals came with a man-advantage. “Five-on-five, we didn’t give up much tonight,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. “Their looks came on their power play. They got a tremendous amount of skill and our PK had a tough time tonight.”
Kry me a river
The Rangers have just as many holes in its roster as the Flyers, none bigger than MVP finalist Artemi Panarin. So while the Flyers were able to get goals from four different players, New York’s Chris Kreider accounted for all three of its scores.
Zibanejad was flying all over the ice, but couldn’t get one past Elliott. Same with Derek Fox (3 shots on goal) and Brendan Smith (4 SOG). Also, Colin Blackwell should have had a tap-in goal late in the first period, but the puck rolled off his stick.
» READ MORE: Flyers finally show a shooter’s mentality, but can they keep it going?
Did you notice?
James van Riemsdyk’s second-period goal was his 22nd point in his 16th game. He had nine points in his first 16 games last season.
Kreider’s three goals all came on Elliott’s doorstep. Not a good sign for Flyers defensemen.
Of the Flyers season-high 39 shots, 13 were on the power-play, and four were shorthanded. The other 22 came 5-on-5.
Zibanejad lost 12 of 14 faceoffs. He was beaten on 5 of 6 to Sean Couturier, 1 of 4 to Giroux and all three against Connor Bunnaman.
The Flyers fourth line did not see the ice much at even strength. Compare Andy Andreoff (5:25), Sam Morin (5:11), Carsen Twarynski (6:12) to New York’s Kevin Rooney (12:21), Phillip Di Giuseppe (10:44) and Jonny Brodzinski (9:41).