The Flyers and Rangers squared off Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers were looking to avenge their 2-1 loss last Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers entered the game trying to stop the bleeding after an embarrassing 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night. The Rangers got at it quickly on Tuesday night as Michael Del Zotto beat Ilya Bryzgalov on a slap shot to put the Rangers up 1-0 just 1:57 into the game. The Flyers could not sustain much pressure in the first period despite their nine shots on Henrik Lundqvist in the period. Danny Briere led the Flyers with four shots of the team’s nine shots. Flyers defenseman Nick Grossmann laid it on the line early in the game as he blocked three Rangers shots in the first frame. The Rangers got off 11 shots on Bryzgalov as he stopped all but Del Zotto’s.

The second period was similar to the first with a lot of back and forth action with significant time spent in the neutral zone. Peter Laviolette used his timeout eight minutes into the period as the Flyers would go on a 5-on-3 power play for nearly 1:20. The Flyers would end up passing a lot but only getting one shot on net. They had a few opportunities but the shots went wide. The Rangers took some momentum and got their legs moving when Max Talbot took a tripping penalty. The Rangers went to work when a shot from the point was stopped by Bryzgalov who was screen but Rangers captain Ryan Callahan took the rebounded and punched it home to give New York a 2-0 lead. They would carry the lead into the second intermission.

The third started off slow when the Flyers got a shot on the Rangers net and surrounded Lundqvist. Talbot was one of the guys surrounding Lundqvist but was taken away from the scrum when Callahan began punching him in the back of the head. After both dropped the gloves and a scurm that led to both falling on the ice, Talbot had an opportunity to punch Callahan but refrain when he realized the Rangers captain was injured. It was a classy move in a heated rivalry. The Rangers would later be called for a bench minor penalty which put the Flyers on the power play. Just under a minute into the power play, Wayne Simmonds went into the corner and came away with the puck and found a wide open Kimmo Timonen who sniped a wrister over Lundqvist’s shoulder to cut New York’s lead in half. The Flyers would have other opportunities down the stretch but could not control the power play. The Flyers did not even get a shot on goal in the final 15 seconds with an extra attacker. The Rangers would hold on to win 2-1.

Quick Hits:

• Flyers center Danny Briere took 10 shots tonight.
  
• Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had 26 saves on 27 shots (.963 SV%).
  
• Bryzgalov had 26 saves on 28 shots (.929 SV%).
  
• Timonen led all Flyers with 25:03 of ice time.
  
• Ryan McDonagh led all skaters 30:09 of ice time.
  
• Brian Boyle led all players with seven hits.
  
• Flyers were 1-for-6 on the power play tonight while the Rangers were 1-for-2.
  

The Flyers get back at it Friday night at 7:00 pm as they wrap up their four game road trip against the Washington Capitals.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Flyers are making their first visit to Madison Square Garden this season. They are coming off a rough 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday but tonight is the first time they face an opponent for a second time. Last Thursday the Flyers registered their first win of the season against New York. Last Thursday. the Flyers came out swarming. They dominated much of the first period as they held an 8-2 edge in shots more than halfway through the period. The Flyers would end up outshooting the Rangers 11-5 in the period but neither team could get on the board. Philadelphia would take the momentum back and get on the board first when Nick Grossmann let a wrister go from the point that hit Wayne Simmonds in the foot and beat Henrik Lundqvist. The Flyers would add another as Jake Voracek poked home Sean Couturier's shot that hit off the post to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. The third period got off to a bad start for the Flyers as Braydon Coburn was whistled for a high sticking penalty just 22 seconds into the period. After some tic-tac-toe passing, the puck ended up on the stick of forward Marain Gaborik who fed a wide open Taylor Pyatt who beat Bryzgalov just 1:39 into the period. The Flyers would buckle down and hold on to a 2-1 win over a team that they had previously lost eight straight against.

The Flyers are looking for their first win at Madison Square Garden since February 20, 2011. The Flyers will look a little different tonight at the Garden than in the past as the New York arena added more lights so hopefully there won’t be as many shadows on the ice. This will be the Flyers third straight game on the road and they will wrap up their four game road trip on Friday in Washington. Danny Briere leads all Flyers with 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points in 44 career games against the Rangers. Lifetime the Flyers are 115-109-37-7 against New York. On Sunday the Flyers had an issue getting pucks to the net as they had more shots blocked (26) than shots on net (25). It does not figure to get any easier as the Rangers are notorious for blocking shots with defensemen Dan Girardi (14) and Ryan McDonagh (12) both rank in the top 20 in the NHL in blocked shots.

Between the Pipes: Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryzgalov is playing a lot better than his record shows. He has not allowed more than four goals yet this year. Last Thursday against New York, Bryzgalov stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced for his first win of the season. He followed it up with an even stronger performance on Saturday when he stopped 30 of the 31 shots fired at him for a season high .968 save percentage. In his career against the Rangers, he is 2-5-0 with a 3.46 GAA and a .881 save percentage.

The Rangers are coming off of a 5-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night so they should be nice and rested for tonight’s divisional battle. Tonight’s game is the middle game of a three game home-stand for New York. The Flyers opponents have scored eight goals on 21 opportunities in the Flyers four losses but they are only 1-for-8 in the Flyers’ two wins. The Rangers were 1-for-4 on the power play last Thursday. Rangers center Brad Richards leads New York in career points against the Flyers with nine goals and 29 assists for 38 points in 38 games.

Between the Pipes: Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist had his best game of the season against the Flyers last week as he stopped 31 of the Flyers 33 shots for a .939 save percentage. He is still a Vezina contender despite allowing at least two goals in each of his five starts this season. In 38 career games against the Flyers, Lundqvist is 22-11-3 with a 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage with four shutouts.

Puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm. The game can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

Facing off against the New York Rangers last night at the Wells Fargo Center, Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds the game was a “must-win” for a team that started the season 0-3. The Flyers had dropped their previous eight straight games against the Rangers dating back to March 6, 2011. The last time the Flyers beat New York was on February 20, 2011. The Flyers came out swarming. They dominated much of the first period as they held an 8-2 edge in shots more than halfway through the period. The Flyers would end up outshooting the Rangers 11-5 in the period but neither team could get on the board. The second period started out with the Rangers taking control and registering some scoring chances. The Flyers stood tough behind goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Philadelphia would take the momentum back and get on the board first when Nick Grossmann let a wrister go from the point that hit Wayne Simmonds in the foot and beat Henrik Lundqvist. Three minutes later rookie Tye McGinn got in a scuffle in front of the net when Kris Newbury dropped the gloves and started throwing punches at a clear-not-ready McGinn. McGinn held his own and landed some big punches on Newbury. The Flyers would get a two minute power play as Newbury was also penalized for roughing. The Flyers would make it count as Jake Voracek poked home Sean Couturier's shot that hit off the post to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. They outshot New York 17-8 in the second period.

The third period got off to a bad start for the Flyers as Braydon Coburn was whistled for a high sticking penalty just 22 seconds into the period. After some tic-tac-toe passing, the puck ended up on the stick of forward Marain Gaborik, who scored a hat trick in Wednesday night’s 4-3 Rangers victory over Boston. Gaborik let a shot go that was blocked by Grossmann who dove head first to block the shot with his chest. Unfortunately the puck came back to Gaborik who fed a wide open Taylor Pyatt who beat Bryzgalov just 1:39 into the period. Midway through the period, McGinn was whistled for a four minute double minor for high sticking. Just 15 seconds later, Grossmann was whistled for hooking giving the Rangers and two minute 5-on-3 and in addition to the remaining 3:45 on the McGinn. The Flyers would kill off both penalties in fantastic fashion. The crowd was roaring as the Flyers killed off the penalties and received a standing ovation. The Flyers would go on to shut the Rangers down and hold on for their first win of the season 2-1.

Quick Hits:

• Kimmo Timonen led all Flyers with 24:06 of ice time. Claude Giroux led Flyers forwards with 23:11 of ice time.
• Wayne Simmonds won first star of the game as he scored a goal, assisted on the other, and led the team with six shots on goal.
• Ilya Bryzgalov was the second star of the game with 18 saves on 19 shots.
• The Flyers were 1-for-3 on the power play while the Rangers were 1-for-4 on the power play.
• Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist saved 31 of the 33 shots he faced.
• Braydon Coburn led the Flyers with four hits.
• The Flyers announced before the game that Scott Hartnell will miss 4-8 weeks with a left foot injury.
• The Flyers announced that they have signed former-Flyer Mike Knuble to a one-year, $750k deal.

The Flyers are back at it on Saturday at 7:30 pm in Sunrise, Florida as they take on the Florida Panthers.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

The Flyers are coming off a tough loss in New Jersey on Tuesday. After losing their first two games despite not playing terrible hockey, they were looking to turn things around against the defending Eastern Conference champion Devils. The game did not get off to the kind of start that they wanted. Just 1:07 into the game, Travis Zajac got a pass (looked like a shot) from Bryce Salvador and put it behind Ilya Bryzgalov. Zajac got position as he caught Sean Couturier napping in front. The Flyers played a solid, swarming first period as they dominated the time of possession while firing nine shots at Martin Brodeur. With just under 30 seconds remaining in the period, David Clarkson threw a puck to the front of the net that went off of Ruslan Fedotenko’s skate then off Bryzgalov and into the net to give the Devils a 2-0 lead after one period despite only registering one shot. The second period began with the Flyers taking control and going on the power play. A Kimmo Timonen turnover to Zajac led to a streaking Ilya Kovalchuk heading in on Bryzgalov to which Timonen was forced to hook Kovalchuk and award him a penalty shot. He did not miss to put the Devils up 3-0. The Flyers would go on to lose by that deficit.

The Flyers are looking to avoid their first 0-4-0 in franchise history. They began 0-3-3 in 2008-09. This is the first of five meetings this season with the Rangers, three of which will be at the Wells Fargo Center. There isn’t a long break between meetings as the two squads will faceoff at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The Flyers are 114-109-37-7 all time against the Rangers and 63-52-14-4 in Philadelphia. The Rangers have won eight straight against the Flyers as the Flyers have not beat the Rangers since February 20, 2011. The Flyers will be without Scott Hartnell who is out indefinitely with a foot injury and without Brayden Schenn who was suspended one game for his bone-rattling hit on Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov on Tuesday night.

Between the Pipes: Ilya Bryzgalov (0-3-0, 3.04 GAA, .902 SV%). Bryzgalov has gotten the loss in the first three games of the season and has allowed two or more goals in each game. Despite what the numbers are saying Bryzgalov has not played poorly to start the year. He has not made that “one” major save that shifts momentum but he has also not allowed an easy, head-scratching goal.  Bryzgalov is 1-5-0 in six career starts against the Rangers with a 3.91 GAA and a .873 SV%. By comparison, Flyers backup Michael Leighton is 1-1-1 in three career starts against the Rangers with a 1.64 GAA and a .935 SV%.

The Rangers also got off to a slow start as well as they dropped their first two games before taking on the Bruins last night. Marian Gaborik kicked off the scoring by scoring two goals in the first period a little over two minutes apart. With the game tied at three in overtime, Gaborik intercepted a pass and beat Tuuka Rask on a breakaway to record his 14th career hat trick and get the Rangers their first win of the season. Last year the Rangers dominated the Flyers as they outscored them 24-11 (34-13 during the eight game winning streak) and 7-1 in the first period. The Rangers scored first in five of the six matchups last year. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan is one point away from his 200th NHL point and Derek Stepan is one point from his 100th NHL point.

Between the Pipes: Henrik Lundqvist  (1-2-0, 4.03 GAA, .877 SV%). Lundqvist is coming off of a night where he stopped 26 of 29 shots en route to his first victory of the season. He was shaky in the second game of a back-to-back over the weekend in which the Penguins scored four times on just 18 shots. In his career, Lundqvist is 22-10-3 with a 2.60 GAA, .912 SV%, and four shutouts against the Flyers. He was also just featured in a very entertaining “This is Sportscenter” commercial.

Puck drop is slated for 7:00 pm tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. The game can be seen on Comcast Sportsnet and heard on 97.5 The Fanatic.

-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports

Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Beat. This is our new morning update similar to that of Steak and Eggs. We will take you through some of the top storylines from the night before along with some other things to get your day started off the right way! Today’s high in Philadelphia is supposed to be 85 degrees with an afternoon thunderstorm. Last night was a late night for local fans.

Yesterday, the National Football League lost one of its all time greats. Former Chargers, Dolphins, and Patriots linebacker Junior Seau was found yesterday morning unresponsive in his California home. He suffered what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He was 43 years old. More here.

With Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Braves ace Tommy Hanson on the mound, last night’s Phillies-Braves game seemed to set up as a pitchers’ duel. The Phillies had a six run lead then fell behind 8-6 behind a 6 run fourth inning from the Braves. Then the Phillies took a 12-8 lead before the Braves scored five in the eighth to take the lead before the Phillies tied it in the ninth. Both teams had 13 runs on 17 hits entering extra innings. Brian McCann who hit a grand slam off of Halladay earlier was shown up by Chipper Jones who ended the game in the 11th with a two run home run to center. More here.

The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers put on an entertaining show last night in the third game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With the series tied at one game apiece, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second when captain Ryan Callahan beat Braden Holtby on the power play. The Capitals responded less than five minutes later when John Carlson beat Henrik Lundqvist to tie the game at 1. It would take extra hockey to decide the winner. In triple overtime, Marian Gaborik beat Braden Holtby right in front of the net on a nice pass from Brad Richards behind the net. More here.

The Phillies play this afternoon at 12:10 pm and Game 3 for the Flyers is tonight as they take on the Devils in Newark at 7:30 pm. We will have your previews right here.

What was that you heard? What was that cheer that took over the Delaware Valley around 10:30 pm? That was the sound of Flyers fans cheering when former Flyer and current Washington Capital Mike Knuble went breaking in on a 2-on-1 on Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas. It was Game 7 of the Capitals-Bruins series. It was overtime and Knuble had the game on his stick. Despite Knuble’s shot being stopped, the juicy rebound was left for Joel Ward as he slid the puck just past the outstretched right leg of Thomas and the right goal post. It happened so quickly. One moment the puck was headed to Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron’s stick as he had a wide open net but fanned on the shot. The next Ward is sending the Capitals into the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The cheer can be easily explained. The Flyers have successfully avoided the New York Rangers in the Semifinals even if the Rangers beat the Senators tomorrow night. The Flyers have struggled against the Rangers this year and that is why (almost) everyone wanted to avoid them for as long as possible in the playoffs. The Capitals win ensured that they would avoid them at least another round. The Flyers went 0-6 against the Rangers this season. They have lost in every imaginable way. They have been blown out, they have been shut out, they have been in tight games, and they have blown leads. It is hard to imagine another way that the Flyers could have lost.

One thing that has marred the Flyers this season has been afternoon games. The Flyers regular season record in games that started before 7:00 pm was tough to swallow. The Flyers won just three of the ten regular season games that started before 7:00 pm. No coincidentally, only one of the Flyers – Rangers six total games started at 7:00 pm or later. Could that have something to do with it? Maybe. For what it’s worth, the Flyers won two afternoon games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Pittsburgh last week.

So, as Ward slid that puck past Thomas, Flyers fans everywhere realized that they would go another round without facing the dreaded blue shirts that have haunted the Flyers all year. But, did that mean fans would pack it in if the Flyers did have to face the Rangers? “No [expletive] way,” one fan so elegantly phrased it. “Do I want to face them? No,” the fan continued. “Am I afraid of them? No. The playoffs are a completely different beast. And no doubt Lavy [Flyers coach Peter Laviolette] has his boys playing good hockey. I just want to see the Orange and Black back on the ice.”

Who will they play when the Flyers get back on the ice? It is still unclear. It could be the Panthers, Devils, Capitals, or Senators. It all depends on tomorrow night’s Game 7s. But there is one thing we do know; it won’t be the New York Rangers.


-Steve Dolan
Follow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3
Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports