Rangers Top Broad Street Bullies, Lead Series

Thanks to New York’s defensive efforts, Philly’s otherwise red-hot “Ginger” line of Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, and Jakub Voracek has been fairly cool. In the Rangers’ 4-1 win Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, a combination of good goaltending, shot blocking, and scoring prowess put the plucky Blueshirts up 2-1 in their series against Philly. 

Heartbreak began for the Broad Street Bullies only 3:54 into the First when Derek Stepan picked up a rebound on a shot from Rick Nash for his second of the postseason. At 10:24 Marty St. Louis added the game winner, deflecting Dan Girardi’s shot from the blue line past Ray Emery.

The Flyers’ lone goal came from Mark Streit, who beat Lundqvist stick side high on a pass from Voracek late in the period.     

More utter domination continued in the Second, beginning with Dan Girardi’s goal at 5:17. A pseudo scrum also broke out between Jakub Voracek and Swedish sensation Carl Hagelin. Despite their size mismatch, Hagelin got a few jabs in before being served multiple haymakers to the face. 

The Flyers got the man advantage at 11:37 when Dan Carcillo was penalized for roughing after tousling Claude Giroux’s fiery mane. Even with the man advantage, the Flyers couldn’t get the puck deep into New York’s zone. 

After receiving another ghost penalty 8:36 into the Third on a keen defensive play, Dan Carcillo scored New York’s final goal. Steve Mason took on the net minding duties, having participated in the Flyers’ morning skate and being deemed healthy. 

Though the Blueshirts were outshot 32-23, 20-9 in the last two periods, they managed to limit the Flyers’ quality scoring chances by blocking shots and relying on exceptional goaltending from the King.