Richie18

Here comes da' Ray Emery bandwagon, DE • United States • 15 Years Old • Male

Four goal second period lifts Flyers past reeling Rangers

Going into this game, I don't think anyone expected this to be a game where the Flyers just dominate the Rangers in every aspect of this game. However, the Flyers did just that and they dominated the Rangers today in a 5-2 win at MSG. If you watched this game, you saw a Flyers team that just jumped on the Rangers and outplayed them today. The Rangers were terrible in every aspect of the game, and it was embarrasing for them to lose the way they did. A game like this will be a turning point for both teams, whether you win or lose this game.

In the first period, Claude Giroux got the scoring started for the Flyers as he scored against Henrik Lundqvist. I'll tell you this right now, the way Claude is playing right now, he will be a star for the Flyers. Pierre McGuire on NBC echoed those sediments, as he raved about how Claude will be a star. One of the things that people need to really look at when watching Claude Giroux is the fact that he adds some physicality as well. It's easy to look over that facet of the game for him, but he is doing everything well right now.

The second period was as wild and wacky as you could get. Early on in the period, Mike Richards scored a 5 on 3 shorthanded goal. It gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead, but it was a history making goal. With that 5 on 3 shorty, Richie became the first player in NHL history to score three 5 on 3 shorthanded goals. That is a great feat for Richie, and he has many, many years left, so he should be able to score some more 5 on 3 shorties, eh? Not too long after Richie's goal, Matt Carle scored to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead, but the Flyers didn't stop. Less than a minute after Matt Carle's goal, Glen Metropolit scored to give the Flyers a commanding 4-0 lead. Metro has been playing well of late, and he will be a key part for the Flyers when it comes to secondary scoring. About a minute later, Mike Knuble joined the fun as he scored to give the Flyers a 5-0 lead. The crowd at MSG started to chant "Fire Renney!", as the Flyers were blowing out the Rangers. Later in the second period, the Rangers finally got on the board as Lauri Korpikoski scored, but things got crazy. Right off the faceoff after Korpikoski's goal, Colton Orr started goading Riley Cote into dropping the gloves, but Riley didn't drop them and Orr got a ten minute misconduct and a two minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. At that point in the game, the refs did not want that to get out of hand.

It was a quiet third period as the Rangers scored the only goal, which came from their leading scorer, Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev's goal was his 16th of the season. In the period, Arron Asham and Paul Mara dropped the gloves, and Mara apparently injured his shoulder in the fight. Originally, it was thought that Mara re-injured his hand during that fight. Arron Asham has played very well lately, and I've been very impressed. He also showed courtesy as he stopped when he knew that Mara had gotten hurt. Riley Cote received a 10 minute misconduct as well.

The Rangers are not looking good right now. Some of the players are sleep-walking, including Markus Naslund, who Pierre McGuire mentioned during the game. There are other players who are struggling big time for the Rangers, including Wade Redden and Chris Drury. For Redden, it has to be unbearable for him when he is on the ice at MSG, because he knows that he's going to get booed because of his bad play this season. Drury has also struggled this season. The way I look at it, I believe that Brandon Dubinsky should be their captain, not Drury. I think Dubinsky is ready to be the captain for the Rangers. Obviously, the Rangers need a change quickly, and that could mean Tom Renney getting the axe. Michel Therrien got the axe tonight, Renney could be next.

Game Summary
First Period
Scoring
PHI- C. Giroux(3), Asts: S. Upshall(14), D. Powe(3) 8:12 Flyers 1-0
Penalties
PHI- S. Gagne, Tripping 2 min 10:26
NYR- M. Rozsival, Interference 2 min 13:24
NYR- M. Naslund, Holding 2 min 18:32
PHI- S. Hartnell, Slashing 2 min 19:50
Second Period
Scoring
PHI- M. Richards(20), SH Asts: B. Coburn(15) 1:18 Flyers 2-0
PHI- M. Carle(5), Asts: C. Giroux(6), S. Hartnell(21) 7:03 Flyers 3-0
PHI- G. Metropolit(3), Asts: R. Cote(2) 7:57 Flyers 4-0
PHI- M. Knuble(19), Asts: C. Giroux(7), S. Gagne(28) 8:52 Flyers 5-0
NYR- L. Korpikoski(5), Asts: R. Callahan(8), W. Redden(16) 12:25 Flyers 5-1
Penalties
PHI- J. Carter, Tripping 2 min 0:19
NYR- C. Orr, Unsportsmanlike Conduct 2 min 12:30
NYR- C. Orr, Misconduct, 10 min 12:30
PHI- C. Giroux, Tripping 2 min 15:32
NYR- M. Staal, Cross Checking 2 min 16:17
PHI- S. Hartnell, Goaltender Interference 2 min 17:12
PHI- S. Hartnell, Fighting(major) 5 min 19:18
NYR- B. Dubinsky, Fighting(major) 5 min 19:18
Third Period
Scoring
NYR- N. Zherdev(16), Asts: W. Redden(17), P. Prucha(4) 9:39 Flyers 5-2
Penalties
PHI- A. Asham, Fighting(major) 5 min 6:14
PHI- R. Cote, Misconduct 10 min 6:14
NYR- P. Mara, Fighting(major) 5 min 6:14

Goalies
Philadelphia Flyers
#43 Marty Biron(W): 35 Saves on 37 Shots
New York Rangers
#30 Henrik Lundqvist(L): 10 Saves on 14 Shots
#40 Stephen Valiquette: 5 Saves on 6 Shots

THREE STARS OF GAME(Hockey Writers Association):
1. #28 Claude Giroux PHI
2. #18 Mike Richards PHI
3. #44 Kimmo Timonen PHI

NEXT FLYERS GAME: Thursday Night Vs. Buffalo Sabres 7pm CSN-HD