CHOO CHOO.
The conductor? Wayne Simmonds.
The New York Rangers were obviously the victim tied to the tracks as the Orange & Black express rolled right through them last evening to make it a winner takes all affair this evening at Madison Square Garden. In a game that pretty much forced the Flyers to comes to terms with their own under performance during this series, the guy most truly wanted to see involved did exactly that as Simmonds would get in front of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist repeatedly, terrorizing him to the tune of a hat trick as the Flyers would eventually emerge victorious in Game 6 of the playoffs by a score of 5-2.
It would have been a natural hat trick, but the guy who everyone wished to see on the blue line, one Erik Gustafsson decided to make an impact himself, scoring on a breakaway tally in between Simmonds’ second and third goal. It was a remarkable showing considering the Rangers have been the first to score in each game this series until this one, and Steve Mason put on another marvelous performance in net for the Flyers at home once again, keeping the club in it with a few ridiculous saves in the first period.
The Flyers even looked much more relaxed on the ice, keeping an even keel in shots on goal with the Rangers through the first two periods. This was something of an issue in the earlier games, but the panic or fluster wasn’t there in this one as Philly would get push after push into the New York defensive zone, and it would pay off nicely.
Adding Gustafsson was perhaps the best move Coach Craig Berube could have made, giving the blue line corps some speed to counter the Rangers forward groupings. They never had a chance to get ahead of the Flyers defensemen and create the odd man rushes that had plagued the Flyers because of this, and frankly speaking, Hal Gill shouldn’t even sniff the ice for this evening’s tilt either. Losing Niklas Grossmann for the rest of the season may hurt the defensive depth, but adding a swift puck mover never hurts, too. Andy MacDonald and Luke Schenn are virtual clones of Grossmann, albeit smaller, but will provide the same shot blocking and stuffing play skills that Niklas possesses.
The play that should have warranted more than just a 2 minute minor was Derek Dorsett’s blatant riding of a fallen Mark Streit into the boards. This occurred after Gustafsson’s goal, and was dangerous as well as intentional. Dorsett should have been chucked from the contest for it, but alas was allowed to stay in the game. Karma would bite him anyway when Simmonds would collect his third goal of the game on the resulting power play and chase Lundqvist from the game to boot. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was smart for pulling Hank, but at the same time, conceding a contest so easily may have been a bit premature considering how many comebacks have gone down across the board for the clubs playing in this postseason overall. Resting Lundqvist may be smart, but every game counts, and I wonder if Vigneault will wind up regretting the move.
The final game goes down tonight, and I completely expect to see the Flyers try and seize on the momentum they suddenly possess. The Rangers have clearly stalled a bit, and it all has the feeling of a next round for Philly.
*photo courtesy of NHL.com
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