The series between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers has yielded few surprises through three games. Eventually Philly was going to win a game in Madison Square Garden, and given the balance of play through the first two games in New York, the series deserved to be tied.
Game 3 was a different story all together and it was New York steal the mojo and the home ice away from the Flyers. The Flyers fell behind by a pair of goals early, but couldn’t overcome as the Rangers finally got some offense from their star players and a former Flyer, Daniel Carcillo.
The series has been all about momentum so far. An ill-timed penalty from Jason Akeson gave the Rangers four minutes of power play time that were capitalized upon in Game 1.
Game 2 Akeson redeemed himself with a game-tying power play goal of his own as the Flyers scored four straight goals to even the series. Looking ahead to a pivotal Game 4, here are five takeaways from this entertaining series so far.
1. Philadelphia’s goaltending is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates.
Ray Emery has been pressed into service with the injury to Steve Mason. He hasn’t been bad, and can’t be blamed for any of the goals allowed in Game 1. He was a difference maker in Game 2 however, shutting the door after allowing two early goals in a 33 save effort. Game 3 saw Emery yanked in the third for Steve Mason leaving the window for a possible Game 4 return from the Flyers' starter. Even with Mason between the pipes, we still don’t know what to expect until the puck drops.
2. About that Martin St. Louis trade…..
Initially it looked like Tampa got the better end of the deal when the Rangers and Lightning swapped their captains at the trade deadline. While Ryan Callahan’s season came to an abrupt close Tuesday night, St. Louis was making a huge impact for the Rangers with a goal and an assist. The ageless “Mighty Mite” was a thorn in Philadelphia’s side all evening and continues to be a factor for the blue shirts.Through the first three games, the 38-year old winger has racked up five points (2 goals and 3 assists).
3. The Flyers seem to take penalties at the worst possible times.
It’s no surprise that the most penalized team in the NHL can be undisciplined, but the Flyers shot themselves in the foot in Game 1 and continued to find themselves shorthanded at the wrong times in Game 3. Philadelphia managed to kill off all four power plays, but the timing of the infractions came at times when the Flyers were dominating play and trying to assert themselves. It has been a common theme in all three games and digging themselves out of a 1-2 hole will require a discipline that Philadelphia has yet to show.
4. Henrik Lundqvist is dialed in.
The Swedish superstar has been as good as advertised through the first three games and looks like he is getting better each game. A 31-save effort in Game 3 was the “King’s” strongest game of the series and that is a very bad sign for the Flyers. A raucous crowd and pumped up Philadelphia club couldn’t rattle the icy net minder as he was beaten only once on a pretty odd-man rush by Mark Streit’s redirection. It’s no surprise that Lundqvist is a factor in the series, but he could be the biggest factor as New York attempts to close their rivals out.
5. A Philadelphia resurgence will have to go through Claude Giroux
The Flyers captain had not registered a single shot in the first two games before his two registered attempts Tuesday night. He has been his typical dominant self in the faceoff circle but Giroux needs to be a difference maker on both ends of the ice. Two assists in three games is an unacceptable level of production given Giroux’s level of talent. He looked solid tonight, but there will need to be some more grinding from the captain for Philadelphia to have a shot for a comeback.