Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Flyers
* Jakub Voracek recorded his 11th multi-point game of the season and remains the only Flyer with at least one point in every game this season in which the team has not been shut out – He now has 32 points on the season (9g-23a) and moves within a point of Sidney Crosby in the NHL scoring race, with Pittsburgh in action tonight.
* Sean Couturier was 12-for-17 (70.6 pct) on faceoffs and was 22-for-30 (73.3 pct) over the home-and-home series.
* The Flyers’ 2-1 advantage in the second period was only the second time they have held the lead in a regular-season game at Madison Square Garden during their current 10-game losing streak there. The other lead was during a 4-2 loss on March 5, 2013, and coincidentally was also taken on a power play goal by Jake Voracek. Other than those two times, the Flyers haven’t led at MSG in the regular season since their last win there on Feb. 20, 2011.
* Mark Streit led the team with 22:07 of ice-time, while Luke Schenn returned to the line-up after missing the previous two games to record four shots on goal and three hits and an ice-time of 20:02, which was the third time all season he appeared in over 20 minutes of TOI.
* The Flyers are next in action on Tuesday night at San Jose (10:00 PM, CSN, 97.5 FM)
GAME RECAP
NEW YORK — Derick Brassard scored two goals and Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves to lead the New York Rangers to a 5-2 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Brassard’s second goal of the game, off a 3-on-2 rush with Kevin Hayes and Lee Stempniak 3:06 into the third, snapped a 2-2 tie. After taking a feed from Hayes, Brassard skated into the left circle and beat Emery over the right shoulder. It marked the first multi-goal game of the season for the 27-year-old.
Less than six minutes later, J.T. Miller made a strong move to the cage, curled the Flyers net and tucked the puck just inside the right post on a wraparound past Ray Emery at 9:54.
Miller was inserted into the lineup Saturday for Chris Kreider, who was home with his family after the passing of his grandfather. He stood out on the fourth line with center Dominic Moore and right wing Jesper Fast, and finished with two points in his fourth game this season. The Rangers were also playing without defenseman Dan Boyle (flu) and forward Tanner Glass (mumps).
The Rangers outshot the Flyers, 35-23. The Rangers have won all three games against the Flyers this season by a combined score of 10-2.
Fast finished with a goal and an assist, defenseman Kevin Klein had two assists and Stempniak scored into an empty net with 23.9 seconds remaining. The Flyers received goals from Nicklas Grossman and Jakub Voracek. Emery had 30 saves.
The Rangers, 4-2-2 in their past eight games, will next play host to the Tampa Bay Lighting on Monday. The Flyers, 1-7-1 in their past nine games, continue their five-game road trip Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks.
The Rangers have won the past 10 regular-season home games against the Flyers dating back to March 6, 2011. The longest home winning streak by the Rangers against an opponent is 11 games, also against the Flyers from Jan. 14, 1990 to Nov. 4, 1992.
The Flyers took their first lead in the second when Voracek scored his team-leading ninth of the season on the power play at 8:45. Voracek took a pass from Brayden Schenn in the right circle and ripped a shot over the glove of Lundqvist. The Flyers appeared to be in control at that point until Fast struck for his first NHL goal at 11:38 to even the game, 2-2.
Fast took a pass from Klein in the high slot, skated into the right circle and swept a shot along the ice that beat Emery to the far side.
“It was a nice feeling to score that goal,” Fast told MSG Network at the second intermission. “I got the puck on my stick and it bounced a little bit, but I got the shot off and it went in far side.”
The Rangers turned on the heat from that point, limiting the Flyers to one shot while generating several good scoring opportunities on Emery, who was strong. His best save came at 14:13 when he stopped Miller with his right pad at the left post.
The teams exchanged goals in the first. Brassard snapped home his seventh of the season off a pass from Rick Nash at 2:50 with the Rangers on the power play to open the scoring. The goal came with Flyers captain Claude Giroux serving a double minor for high-sticking.
The Flyers evened the score at 13:46 when Grossman took a pass from Voracek and skated into the right circle before ripping the puck into the top far corner past Lundqvist. The goal was the first for Philadelphia against the Rangers in three games this season, a span of 133:46.
