Fly-by: Rangers 5, Flyers 2
Sunday, 02.05.2012 / 12:49 PM
/ News
philadelphiaflyers.com
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OPPORTUNITY LOST
Following the Flyers loss to the Rangers, the feeling was one of a lost opportunity.With points becoming more valuable as the season winds down, an important four points were up for grabs. "It's pretty upsetting. Obviously that was our goal at the beginning of the weekend and we fell short and lost both games," said forward Wayne Simmonds. "Obviously we're going to have to go back and start practicing again, start from scratch and go into next week with a good mindset." The game certainly wasn't a dull one however. A close game through two periods of play saw a scrum after every whistle, four fighting majors, three of which came from Tom Sestito. In total, the Flyers and Rangers combined for 72 penalty minutes (Flyers-40, Rangers-32). Even rookie Sean Couturier got in on the action, going after Rangers center Brian Boyle who crossed checked his line-mate Zac Rinaldo. The Rangers have won all four meetings on the year, however the last two games of the season series will take place in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. The bad blood from the rivalry won't have to wait another month like today's match up. They will battle each other in less than a week in a Saturday matinee. |
Brayden Schenn’s goal marked the 14th game in the last 17 that a Flyers rookie has scored a goal. Wayne Simmonds set a new career high with his 17th goal of the season. He has four goals in his last three games and a total of five goals and three assists for eight points in his last seven games. Claude Giroux kept pace with Evgeni Malkin in the league’s scoring race with his assist today. Malkin had a goal in Pittsburgh’s 5-2 loss to New Jersey. Giroux now has 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points on the season. Claude Giroux was 9-for-20 on faceoffs – just the second time in the last 13 games that he has been below 50 percent on draws. The Flyers have now scored a power play goal in seven consecutive games. The Flyers are now 4-7-1 this season in games that start before 7pm. They have been shut out in two of those games and have allowed at least five goals in five of them. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Flyer to have three fights in one game was Ian Laperriere on Dec. 21, 2009 (4-1 L vs. Florida). This is only the second time in nine situations this season that the Flyers have lost both ends of back-to-back games. The only other time was the first set of back-to-backs on October 26-27. |
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| "When you do get a chance you have to capitalize on it. We haven't had the best of luck against them this year, but we have a couple games left so I guess we owe them one." -Brayden Schenn "I'm not going to back away. I think I could've gotten a fourth one there with [Mike Rupp] coming over but I'm sure we'll see him next game and it's going to be a battle every time I play these guys." -Tom Sestito |
Today's turning point came early in the third period. Coming off the heels of giving up a power-play goal to Wayne Simmonds, the Rangers regained the lead just 36 seconds later on a semi 2-on-1 break. Rangers leading scorer Marian Gaborik came down the wing and waited for defenseman Michael Del Zotto joining the rush. Gaborik fed Del Zotto just inside the right circle, who fired it past Bryzgalov to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. The Rangers would add another goal and an empty-netter to make it 5-2, but Del Zotto's goal proved to be the difference maker in the contest. |
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PIC OF THE NIGHT: Tom Sestito during one of his three fights on the night.  |
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 Rangers 5, Flyers 2 Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - Artem Anisimov had a goal and two assists, Henrik Lundqvist made 21 saves and the New York Rangers continued their recent success against the Philadelphia Flyers with a 5-2 fight-filled victory on Sunday. Marian Gaborik, Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko also scored for Eastern Conference-leading New York, which has won six straight against Philadelphia, including their four games this season. It was Anisimov's first points in 18 games.  FULL RECAP |
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