The New York Rangers did not get the offensive explosion they were hoping for but solid defense and goaltending were enough to lead the Blueshirts to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
After giving a goal in the first 59 seconds of the game, Colin Blackwell‘s power-play goal in the second period tied it up. It was the first power-play goal of his NHL career. Blackwell has tallied a goal in two consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career. He has recorded five points (three goals, two assists) in seven games with the Rangers.
The Rangers took the lead in the third period on Brendan Smith‘s first goal of the season but the Flyers tied it up when Joel Farabee punched in a shot during a scramble in front of the Ranger’s net.
The Rangers defense was stellar on the night as they only allowed the Flyers to get 22 shots and killed all five of the Flyer’s power-play attempts.
The Flyers played their first game after 11 days off due to players being placed on the COVID-19 protocol. Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek, and Justin Braun were out. None of the six will make the trip to Lake Tahoe on Sunday for Philadelphia’s outdoor game against Boston.
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The Smith reach & finish ?? pic.twitter.com/j2R1eiq3Jx— x – Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) February 19, 2021
Alexandar Georgiev stopped two of the three Flyer’s attempts in the shootout and had 20 saves on the night. This was Georgiev’s third straight overtime game.
The New York Rangers were pleased with their resiliency
In his post-game press conference, Smith talked about how the Rangers did not get down after the Flyers scored late in the third period. “I think we didn’t break. I think with a lot of younger teams that they will break after giving up the tying goal. It was good resilience and a good effort. We really needed that.”
Artemi Panarin said after the game that “Today we played better and after the second goal against it was great that the team didn’t give up. It was a big win for us”
In his post-game Zoom conference, head coach David Quinn talked about how proud he was of his team. “I’m very proud. This has been a tough go for us and losing can wear on you. I don’t care how we needed to do it, I don’t care how pretty it looked, I don’t care how it came to fruition we needed two points and we got two points.”
The Rangers will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Washington to face the Capitals with a 12:30 p.m. puck drop.