Sign in Subscribe
Front Page

Rangers vs. Flyers: Kakko Scores two as Georgiev shuts out Philly

Cue ‘It’s Always a Shutout in Philadelphia’ joke...because Georgiev now has three against the Flyers...get it.

Despite the loss last night, the Rangers had a big game against Carolina. Chris Kreider netted his 50th goal of the season, which almost eclipsed the fact that the first place Hurricanes only tacked on more points in the standings.

Either way, knowing the Blueshirts are in the playoffs and Kreider had the night he had, made it easier to brush off the loss and look to tonight in Philadelphia. As promised, Gallant gave Shesterkin the night off and Georgiev took to the crease against the local division rivals who sit in last place in the Metropolitan division, and he has a strong history playing against.

1st Period

After a bit of a flat beginning to the period, and a frustrating power play where the team wasn’t able to create much of anything, the Rangers were able to pick up the momentum thanks to a lot of the youngsters on the team.

NYR:  Kaapo Kakko (6) - Barclay Goodrow (14) & K’Andre Miller (12) - 10:20

In just the fourth shot by the Rangers, Kakko got the first goal after a nice sequence by the defense.

2nd Period

NYR:  Kaapo Kakko (7) - Filip Chytil (13) - 8:22

Kakko added to the tally early in the second period after a nice penalty kill by the Rangers. Again, with the help of Chytil, one of the younger players on the team, Kakko gave a little more wiggle room for the team.

NYR:  Artemi Panarin (22) - Jacob Trouba (26) - 11:03

Quickly after Kakko’s second goal, Panarin tacked on another giving a nice cushion for the Rangers.

After this goal, quite a lot of pushing and shoving occurred which carried on through the rest of the period, resulting in a few power plays that were killed on both sides. Most notably, former Ranger Kevin Hayes and Barclay Goodrow took a pair of roughing penalties. After a delay of game penalty, the second period quietly ended with the Rangers ahead in shots on goal by a significant margin considering they had to play catch up.

3rd Period

Things seemed to calm down and move very quickly as the third period started. There was virtually no excitement, just a lot of back and forth until late in the period. The Rangers simply held the line.

A penalty on Adam Fox for slashing with two minutes to go in regulation gave the Flyers one last shred of hope to break the shutout.

NYR: Andrew Copp (18) - Barclay Goodrow (15) - Jacob Trouba (27) - 18:07

Instead, Copp sealed the deal for the Rangers with an empty-net goal on a breakaway after a few blocked opportunities for Philadelphia. This was his thirteenth point so far with the Rangers, further proving the big impact he has had since joining the lineup.

The final score was 4-0, Georgiev getting a 28-save shutout, and the eighth of his career.

The Rangers have a few days off but will be back at it Saturday afternoon as they host the Detroit Red Wings at the Garden. They will look to climb in the standings despite already claiming a spot in the playoffs, with their remaining seven regular season games.

Read next