The New York Rangers will be hosting the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday night. Here is a Rangers vs Flyers pregame analysis.
Series Matchup
The Rangers and Flyers faced each other twice this season. Both times, the Rangers were victorious as they won 4-1 on December 1, 2021 and 3-2 on January 15, 2022.
The game in December showed the Flyers having more shots on goal, but Igor Shesterkin stopped all but one of the Flyers 34 shots. Scoring came early because of Jacob Trouba. Dryden Hunt, Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin added to the score.
Morgan Frost was the lone goal scorer for the Flyers and it was his first for the season.
January’s game could have been anybody’s as the difference maker was the Rangers going 1/2 on the PP. Mika Zibanejad scored a PPG early in the first. Then, Oskar Lindblom and Cam York scored. This was York’s first goal of the season.
Filip Chytil and Kreider scored to take the lead back in the third period and that made it 3-2, final score.
The Rangers look to continue winning against the Flyers. Here are some key players to look out for.
Key Players
Ex-Rangers player Kevin Hayes has five assists in his last five games. Joel Farabee has three goals.
Panarin has seven points in his last five games. Kreider has four goals, Zibanejad has five assists and Andrew Copp is +6.
If Shesterkin starts, he will be looking for his 33rd win. His record is 32-10-3 with a 2.13 GAA and a .934 save percentage. The New York Islanders got the best of him Friday night in a 3-0 shutout. However, Shesterkin is definitely a Vezina Trophy contender, along with a possible MVP candidate. Nobody can deny it that Shesterkin is great and that he has played a major role in where the Rangers are at today.
Team Stats
The Rangers are number two in the league on their PP and 11th with their penalty kill. They are also third in goals.
The Flyers are not that great with any of these. They are sixth though in faceoff percentage. This is an area where the Rangers have struggled all season long, sitting at 27th in the NHL.
The Rangers are second in the Metropolitan Division with 93 points, just one ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Carolina Hurricanes are leading this division with 98 points.
As far as the playoffs go, the Flyers are eliminated. The only thing they can do is play spoiler to those either trying to get a playoff spot or a better playoff position.
What to Expect
The Rangers are looking to bounce back from the shutout loss to the Islanders and inch closer to the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes play Saturday evening so there is they may gain more on the Rangers. As of this article, prior to any games, The Rangers are five points back from the Hurricanes and hoe it stays that way.
The Flyers are looking to end a three-game losing streak. Even though the Flyers have nothing to lose now that they are not playoff-bound, they will still be looking to win as many games as possible. Having only 15 games left, the Flyers want to win to end their season on a good note.
So, who will win Sunday night? Will it be a frustrated Rangers team looking to play hockey the way they know how to? Or will it be the Flyers who may just play the spoiler? Stay tuned Sunday at 7 p.m. ET to find out.
Featured Image Courtesy of Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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