The New York Rangers are just coming off of a 3-0 shutout against the San Jose Sharks Thursday night. The Flyers also played Thursday night, but lost to the Boston Bruins 3-2. Here is the Rangers vs. Flyers pregame analysis.
Rangers vs. Sharks
Igor Shesterkin returned to the Rangers and his welcome was wanted. Fans were missing him a lot, especially because Shesterkin has been racking up the wins. Well the Ranger fans got what they wanted. Shesterkin was a big part of the Rangers 3-0 shutout win.
Shesterkin wasn’t the only player who made an impact. Braden Schneider (1) made his NHL debut, scoring on a great pass from Ryan Strome (19). Filip Chytil (7) also assisted in the play.
Chris Kreider had one heck of a game. Kreider scored his first ever short-handed goal. After the Rangers won the faceoff, Kreider eventually takes control of the puck, passes it to Mika Zibanejad and then Zibanejad passes it back to Kreider after they enter the Sharks zone. Kreider shoots the puck and it just goes past the goal line after sneaking between the legs of the goalie Adin Hill to make it 1-0.
Kreider also scores an empty net goal late in the third period, making this his 200th career goal.
Rangers vs. Flyers
The last time the Rangers played against the Flyers was on December 1, 2021. The Rangers won this game 4-1, where four different players contributed to the scoring. Jacob Trouba and Dryden Hunt scored in the first period, Kreider scored in the second and Artemi Panarin in the third. The lone goal scorer for the Flyers was Morgan Frost, his first of the season. This loss, at the time, lead to the seven straight losses for the Flyers.
Right now, the Flyers are sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 33 points. In their last game where they lost 3-2 to the Bruins, the Flyers were down 2-0 early, David Pastrnak scoring both goals for the Bruins. In the second period, Cam Atkinson scored at 8:02 and Joel Farabee scored at 15:00 tying it at 2-2. Not even two minutes later, Pastrnak scored again to make it 3-2, earning himself a hat trick. This was the final since nobody scored in the third period.
The Rangers are currently first in the Metro Division, two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes had a chance to keep their lead, but got blown out 6-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Canes have the advantage though since they have played four fewer games than the Rangers. This can be something to look at down the stretch.
What to Expect
It seems as though not much can stop Shesterkin because with their win against the Sharks, Shesterkin made 37 saves. The Flyers need to do their best to stay out of the penalty box since Rangers are 10th in the league in power play percentage at 22.7 percent. If Rangers take a lot of penalties, the Rangers penalty kill percentage is at 85.5 percent. This is the third best in the league, although it is always better to stay out of the penalty box.
The player to watch out for on the Flyers is Atkinson who has eight points in his last five games, three goals and five assists.
The Flyers have to keep eyes on Adam Fox, Kreider, Panarin and Zibanejad. These are the leaders of the Rangers and the Flyers can’t let their guard down at any moment. If these players are on the ice, the Flyers must be away of break-away opportunities the Rangers look to do.
If Rangers play like they did against the Sharks and Shesterkin stays hot, it won’t be easy for the Flyers. The Rangers have an opportunity to stay ahead in their division and they need to play some good old-fashioned hockey. This means that the Rangers need to create their own chances, but don’t force it. Don’t try to create something that isn’t there. Just get open, pass and shoot. Shooting is something that the Rangers do need to work on and they have had that issue for awhile. If they can do this, the victory is theirs. Will the Rangers keep their hold on the Metro Division? Watch the Rangers take on the Flyers at 7 p.m. ET.
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