Viewers couldn't ask for much more from this latest installment of Broad Street vs. Broadway—11 combined goals, an overtime period, and the flaring tempers of a classic rivalry game.
Viewers couldn't ask for much more from this latest installment of Broad Street vs. Broadway—11 combined goals, an overtime period, and the flaring tempers of a classic rivalry game.
Viewers couldn't ask for much more from this latest installment of Broad Street vs. Broadway—11 combined goals, an overtime period, and the flaring tempers of a classic rivalry game.
The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers made sure to put on a show at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, and while the Flyers didn't ultimately end up with two points, they showed plenty of reasons why they're still very much in this playoff race.
Flyers Never Say Die
Assistant coach Brad Shaw said that the Flyers evaluated the challenges of their seven-game gauntlet before embarking on it, and that they knew how demanding this game against the Rangers would be.
"We identified before we played the seven games," he explained. "[We evaluated] the test standing in front of us, and I think we've played some of our best hockey of the year the last three, four games. Great team efforts, and I think we've taken a huge step as a group. I think we can get the job done through the remaining games."
Although the result ultimately didn't go the Flyers' way, they went blow-for-blow against a top Rangers team—something many other teams can't say.
"I just love how we battled back," Shaw said. "It was quite a rollercoaster—up and down, highs and lows—but the fact that we kept scratching and clawing to get back into that game and get a point is, you know, it's an awesome point and an awesome effort by everybody."
Improving Power Play
The Flyers' power play has been a point of contention (it's currently ranked last in the league at 13.4%), but there have been glimmers of improvement. The Flyers have gotten power play goals in the past three games, including Ryan Poehling's PPG against the Rangers.
Three games in a row with powerplay goals may not be earth-shattering, but it's a positive indicator that this Flyers team has been committed to improving the weaker aspects of their overall game. Words like "gritty" and "resilient" get thrown around a lot in conversations about the Flyers (for good reason), but one adjective that should be added to the discourse is "patient." They don't mind taking the small steps to achieve a bigger goal, and as this whole rebuild process has outlined, their willing to wait a little bit longer if it means consistently being able to put their best foot (or skate, rather) forward.
Scoreboard Watching
It's not fun. Nobody likes doing it. Unfortunately, that's the position Flyers fans have found themselves in at this point in the season, particularly keeping an eye on the Washington Capitals. There was some panic when the NHL standings showed the Flyers dropping out of third place in the Metropolitan Division (no worries, they're still in third!), but it only highlighted just how close this race and how much pressure there is on this team to win. One point against the Rangers is certainly better than none, but, obviously, wins are always the main objective.
"This time of year, moral victories don't really do it," Scott Laughton said. "We need to pick up some points here, and I thought we were in control of [the game against the Rangers]. We should have got two [points]."
The sentiment that moral victories aren't enough is a statement that will be on repeat for the remaining games of this regular season, because this Flyers team has moved past the "aw shucks, how did we stumble into being good this season?" narrative, and have shown that they really want to be in the postseason (just look at what scoring the tying goal meant to Tyson Foerster). They just need the points to show for it.
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