The New York Rangers (6th in East Division) will try to extend their current two-game winning run to three contests while paying a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers (4th in the East), who have dropped their past two decisions.
Rangers Win Two In Row
The New York Rangers (6-7-3) triumphed in consecutive games just for the second time this season after following up last Thursday’s 3-2 shootout win at the Philadelphia Flyers with a 4-1 victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday. Chris Kreider (5 goals, 6 points this year) scored a power-play snipe in the opening frame. Alexis Lafreniere (2 goals, 2 points) and Ryan Strome (5 goals, 9 points) tallied in the second period, while Mika Zibanejad (2 goals, 4 points) buried a shorty in the final third, finding the back of the net for the first time in 13 fixtures.#NYR Coach Quinn's post-practice comments: pic.twitter.com/rf8b6NdIkT
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 22, 2021
Goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 shots on Saturday and has now gone 4-5-1 during the current campaign with a 2.23 GAA and a .922 save percentage. He has never faced Philadelphia before, while Alexandar Georgiev (2-2-2 on the year with a 2.95 GAA and a .893 save percentage) has posted a 2-3-0 past tally against the Flyers with a 2.39 GAA and a .918 save percentage. The Rangers, meanwhile, are 6th in least goals scored per game this season (2.44), 7th in least goals allowed on average (2.56), 27th in power play (12.9%; 8-for-62) and 5th in penalty kill (85.7%; 48-for-56).
Flyers Drop A Couple Straight
The Philadelphia Flyers (8-4-3) posted two straight defeats (0-1-1) after following up last Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers with a 7-3 fiasco against the Boston Bruins in NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe on Sunday. After Boston banked the opener 34 seconds into the contest, the Flyers took a 2-1 lead through Joel Farabee (8 goals, 14 points this year) and Sean Couturier (3 goals, 7 points), only to allow five consecutive snipes right after, including four in the second period, before James van Riemsdyk (8 goals, 21 points) netted Philadelphia’s third marker during power play midway through the final third.Came up short in Lake Tahoe.#AnytimeAnywhere | #NHLOutdoors https://t.co/dvEqcLxpzp
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 22, 2021
Goalie Carter Hart (5-3-3 on the season with a 3.68 GAA and a .891 save percentage) allowed six goals on 23 shots in the first two periods on Sunday before being pulled for Brian Elliott (3-1-0 this year with a 2.25 GAA and a .928 save percentage), who made 11 saves in relief. Elliott is 3-8-1 against the Rangers historically with a 2.98 GAA and a .891 save percentage, while Hart has collected a 3-1-1 career total versus the Blueshirts with a 2.17 GAA and a .925 save percentage. The Flyers are 6th in most goals scored per game in 2020-21 (3.40), 8th in most goals conceded on average (3.27), 17th in power play (20.0%; 10-for-50) and 3rd from the bottom in penalty kill (71.2%; 37-for-52).
Team Trends
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NY Rangers (according to Covers.com)
- Rangers are 5-2 in their last 7 Wednesday games.
- Rangers are 7-3 in their last 10 when their opponent allows 5 goals or more in their previous game.
Philadelphia (according to Covers.com)
- Flyers are 1-6 in their last 7 games playing on 2 days rest.
- Flyers are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
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