Postgame RAV4: Late Flyers Lead Slips Away

The Philadelphia Flyers opened a five game road trip with a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. The Flyers took a 2-1 lead well into the third period but couldn't close out the win.

Philly remains winless this season against Metro Division opposition. This was New York's first comeback win of the season.

New York outskated the Flyers early in the first period. The Flyers made a mini-push in the latter minutes. Gabe Perreault (5th of the season) gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead for the frame's only goal.

The middle frame started out being a fairly low event affair. Then play picked up in both end zones.

Midway through the second period, Simon Benoit (1st of the season) snuck a point shot into the net through a screen. Shortly thereafter, Noel Acciari (2nd) gave the Flyers the lead.

In the third period, Pavel Dorofeyev (PPG, 5th) knotted the score at 2-2. Shortly therafter, Ty Kartye (5th) put the Rangers ahead, 3-2.

Joseph Woll made 24 saves on 27 shots. Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand stopped 25 of 27 shots.

1ST PERIOD

The Flyers nearly got gifted a golden scoring chance as the Rangers threw a weak pass into their own slot. One shift later, the Flyers generated a shot from Travis Konecny. At the other end, J.T. Miller and Eeli Tolvanen tested Woll.

At 4:39, the Rangers grabbed the first goal of the game. A high tip from Miller redirected the puck upstairs. The assists went to Marcus Pettersson and Ty Kartye. The sequence started with Oliver Bonk fanning on a clearing opportunity and Cam York slow to make the read on Miller near the hash marks. Shots were now 5-1 New York.

NOTE: After the period, the scoring was changed. The off-ice officials ruled that the puck double deflected. Perreault was credited with the goal, assisted by Miller and Pettersson.

Matvei Michkov, from his knees, won a battle and got the puck out high to Travis Sanheim.

Trevor Zegras had a great scoring chance in close at 8:24. Garand made his second save of the period.

The Flyers drew within 7-6 in shots but still trailed 1-0 at the 13-minute mark. Konecny sent his shot of the period on net.

Christian Dvorak won an offensive left circle faceoff cleanly. A Nick Seeler shot attempt got blocked.

Konecny turned the puck over in the defensive zone, Woll made a tremendous save to deny Kartye at the doorstep with about 4:20 left in the period.

With 2:33 left, Garand snapped an Owen Tippett shot out of the air.

The Flyers hemmed the Rangers in their defensive zone with a strong forecheck over the final minute of the period.

Shots: Flyers 9 -- Rangers 8
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 -- Rangers 6

2ND PERIOD

With a burst of speed, Knuble received a lead pass from Seeler and fired off a shot that tested Garand to the glove side. At the other end, Simon Benoit swept a loose puck to safety after the initial shot trickled past Woll.

The Flyers had their roughest shift since the midpoint of the first period. They had to go into "bend but don't break" mode. Finally, Bonk made a defensive stop and cleared the zone.

For the first time in his last 104 games, Benoit scored a goal. With Cates screening, Benoit's knucking point shot found the net to tie the score at 10:10. Tyson Foerster, who started the sequence with good forechecking work, drew the lone assist.

Philly got another goal from an unexpected source. Barkey made an excellent play to create a tap-in goal for Acciari at 12:09. The other assist went to Jamie Drysdale.

Two shifts later, Woll had to be sharp to protect the 2-1 lead. Perreault's shot hit Kartye, creating a scramble. Woll subsequently made a save through heavy foot traffic.

The Rangers went to the game's first power play at 15:36. Seeler was called for slashing Noah Laba on a second-chance play at the doorstep. The Flyers killed off the penalty in good shape and even generated a mini 2-on-1.

Philly went to their first power play at 18:02. Cates kept his feet moving near the blueline and got tripped by Braden Schneider. The middle part of the man advantage was the best portion. Philly did not score.

Shots: Flyers 8 (17 overall) - Rangers 10 (18 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 6 (15 overall) - Rangers 7 (15 overall)

3RD PERIOD

New York did not record a shot over the first six minutes. The Flyers' Michkov had a pair of turnovers on the same shift. No harm was done.

Couturier was sprung by Barkey and Acciari one-on-one with Garand. He missed the net. At the other end, Drysdale killed a developing New York play. 

Perreault tested Woll on New York's toughest chance over the first 7:30 of the period. Shots for the game were now tied at 20-20. One shift later, a Tippett shot got blocked but he followed it up himself with a wrister that challenged Garand.

The Flyers had a dangerous turnover in the defensive zone. Woll erased it with a key save on Dorofeyev. New York resumed the pressure on the next shift. Woll made his 21st save of the game.

New York continued to pressure. On a delayed Flyers penalty, Woll denied Mika Zibanejad. Barkey was penalized at 13:13 for a ticky-tack slash with one hand. The Rangers went to their second power play.

The Rangers cashed the chance in at 13:52. Adam Fox shot the puck into the offensive zone. Woll was unable to corral it. Philly never gained possession. After a slick feed from Zibanejad, Dorofeyev sniped home the tying goal.

At 15:21, with Sanheim and Drysdale on the same side of the ice, Karyte got wide open over the middle and fired a shot past Woll. Fox set it up with a quick lead pass.

Sanheim had a great look over the middle but fired wide. This was one that had to at least get on the netminder to force a save.

The Flyers pulled Woll for a 6-on-5 with 1:17 left on the clock. They called a timout. Philly got an offensive zone faceoff. Couturier beat Miller cleanly on the draw but Garand stopped Foerster's shot over the middle.

After a long puck battle, Kartye iced the puck with 13.1 seconds left on the clock. A Zegras shot missed the net. The Rangers cleared the puck. Time expired.

Shots: Flyers 10 (27 overall) - Rangers 6 (24 overall)
Faceoffs:Flyers 11 (26 overall) - Rangers 10 (25 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras - Christian Dvorak - Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster –Noah Cates -- Matvei Michkov
Porter Martone - Cole Knuble - Owen Tippett
Noel Acciari - Sean Couturier -- Denver Barkey  

Travis Sanheim - Jamie Drysdale
Cam York - Oliver Bonk
Nick Seeler – Simon Benoit

Joseph Woll

[Dan Vladar]

POSTGAME RAV4 (RAV 4 Things Revisited)

1. Hit the net

The Flyers continue to struggle in this area. They missed the net on 17 shot attempts and got blocked on 11 others. More than the numerical total, missed nets on situational scoring chances proved costly.

2.  Offensive contributions for defensemen

Philadelphia came into the game knowing they'd likely need some offense from the back end. They got it -- from a very unlikely source -- on Benoit's seeing-eye goal. A more expected source, Drysdale, started the sequence that led to the Acciari goal. At the other end, Rangers' leading point-getter Adam Fox collected his 20th and 21st points of the season in quick succession.

3. Special teams

The Flyers went 0-for-1 on the power play. They were 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Dorofeyev's power play tally was critical for New York. 

4.  Porter Martone

In Flyers rookie Porter Martone's first career game at MSG, the player had some ups and downs in 16 shifts (11:51 TOI).