Flyers Hang On For Life with 4-2 Win Over Rangers

The Flyers probably should not have won today.

Outshot 39-24 (with only three shots in the final period), the Flyers came out slow and finished slow with a rather pedestrian effort against Atlantic Division rivals the New York Rangers. Some pretext has to be given in that Mike Richards was not playing at 100% (though he still logged in over 17 minutes of ice time) after fighting the flu and defenseman Sean O’Donnell left the game in the first period with the infamous “lower body injury.”

Still, they have to play better than this if they’re going to earn home ice advantage for the playoffs.

The main reason the Flyers held onto the win was the play of goaltender Brian Boucher. He backstopped the Flyers in their last two starts against the Rangers, both of which ended 4-1 in the Flyers’ favor, and he continued his streak today.

There was a scary moment in the second period when Boosh was hit with a skate by one of either Kimmo Timonen or Derek Stepan, and immediately went down to the ice in pain. He told reporters afterwards that there was a shooting pain up his right arm, but he wanted to stay in the game.

Coach Peter Laviolette decided to switch his lines again and experiment with a Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Jeff Carter line. They were the hardest working line on the ice and accounted for two goals and two assists, including a rare powerplay goal. They finished -1 overall, but that stat wasn’t indicative of how they played.

The defensive pairings were also mixed up as a result of O’Donnell’s injury, including a Braydon Coburn pairing with Chris Pronger. Pronger, Coburn, Timonen, and Matt Carle all logged in over 25 minutes of ice time while Andrej Meszaros was thrown in intermittently.

Dan Carcillo added the third Flyers goal of the game, collecting his own rebound and backhanding it past Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Carcillo has been shopped by general manager Paul Holmgren along with Nikolai Zherdev, and efforts like that help make a case for him to stay on the roster. I’d complain about Zherdev’s absence in the line-up more, but I’ve beaten that horse to death.

Kris Versteeg tallied the empty net goal that closed the door on any Rangers comeback. I was content with the Versteeg trade if it gave Richards a more talented winger to work with for the rest of the season, but he has yet to win me over. Two low draft picks were dealt for his production, and he’ll need to step up his game if he’s going to earn his time with Richards.

For only the third time in the club’s history, the Flyers were not called for a single penalty all game. If ever there was a game that Blair Betts picked a good time to sit, this was it.

The Flyers wrapped up this road trip with 6 of a possible 8 points. Hopefully they will be able to put a more consistent effort on the ice on Tuesday, as they return home to find the Phoenix Coyotes in town.

For in-game updates and the latest Flyers news and reactions, you can follow me on twitter (@JoshJanet).