The New York Rangers are back to their winning ways with back-to-back home victories before heading to the City of Brotherly Love. There they meet Metropolitan Division rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s going to be an intense matchup between these two rivals at Wells Fargo Center. Read on as we take a look at this hard-hitting, adrenaline-thumping game.
The King is back, and he’s looking refreshed after taking a game off to rest. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 of 35 shots, and the New York Rangers beat the visiting Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night. King Henrik is now 4-2-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .938 save percentage.
[sc:NHL240 ]Lundqvist has a pretty tough outing next against the Philadelphia Flyers. While he’s 28-13-3 in 46 career starts against the Flyers, Lundqvist has had trouble stopping pucks with a 2.48 GAA and .916 save percentage in those matchups. Things won’t get easier if the defense continues to rely too much on their goaltender. Lundqvist has faced the most shots in the league at 224.
The Rangers could open up on their defense though. They’ve been dominant in their back-to-back victories, outscoring their opposition 7-1. Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider, Keith Yandle and Rick Nash all scored in their big win over Arizona on Thursday night. Mats Zuccarello added two assists to push his totals to a team-high six points.
Zuccarello also has a team-high four goals this season, tied with rookie forward Oscar Lindberg. The two should be able to bury pucks in the net while last year’s leading scorer Rick Nash attempts to find his form. They have a pretty manageable matchup ahead as the Flyers don’t have a very solid defense to boot. Philadelphia ranks around the middle of the league with a 2.67 GAA this season.
The Rangers have won four of their last five on the road.
Betting on the Philadelphia Flyers
Just when you thought the Philadelphia Flyers were done, they string together goal-after-goal for a come-from-behind 5-4 (OT) victory at Boston. The Flyers trailed 4-2 heading into the third period, but rallied for the overtime victory.
Backup goalie Steve Mason kept the Flyers in the game, saving 16 of 18 shots coming his way. Claude Giroux put Philadelphia within a goal with less than 13 minutes remaining, while Wayne Simmond’s first goal of the season tied the game in regulation. Giroux went on to score the winning goal on a power play in overtime.
Having the Flyers’ offense hot is crucial against the visiting Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist has faced the most shots than any goaltender in the league. Giroux should be at the center of the offense with a team-high three goals this season. He’s played more as a playmaker against the Rangers, though, collecting six goals and 25 assists in 36 career matchups.
Giroux will have some solid scorers in Simmonds and Jakub Voracek as outlets of his passes. Simmonds has scored eight goals in 23 games against New York in his career, while Voracek has nine.
The Flyers have lost four of their last five against the Rangers.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rangers get another win at the expense of Philadelphia. Create a betting account now and get in on all the heated rivalries in the NHL.
