Goal Line Report
View from the Top
by Patrick Hoffman on 12/24/11 at 04:37 PM ET
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That is exactly what the New York Rangers have after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 4-2 last night at Madison Square Garden.
The team came out and played an almost perfect home game by cashing in on their opportunities, never quitting on plays, forechecking, playing solid defense, and getting terrific goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. Put these all together and you have another solid win on home ice.
With the win, the Rangers are now tied with the Flyers for the Atlantic Division lead and are second in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Boston Bruins. Not bad for a team that no one knew just how good they were going to be or what they were capable of.
For starters, the team was certainly good at deflecting pucks past Flyers’ netminder Ilya Bryzgalov. Derek Stepan did just that on the team’s first goal in the second period when he deflected defenseman Stu Bickel’s shot from the point and surprised Bryzgalov to give the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead. The goal was put under a review but because Stepan’s stick was below the crossbar, the goal counted.
Ruslan Fedotenko did the same thing and his goal was also under review because it was first thought that the team hit the crossbar. However, after reviewing the play, the puck hit the back bar inside the net and the Rangers went up 2-0.
Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan would add goals in the third period to seal the team’s 21st victory of the season and their second victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. It was also the team’s 10th win on Garden ice this season.
The team will be back in action on Monday night at the Garden against the New York Islanders before travelling down south to take on the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers and of course, the Flyers in the Winter Classic. Pretty tough schedule for an a pretty good hockey club right now.
Take care everyone and I hope you all have a great holiday.
Filed in: | Goal Line Report | Permalink
Tags: atlantic+division,
boston+bruins,
derek+stepan,
eastern+conference,
florida+panthers,
henrik+lundqvist,
ilya+bryzgalov,
marian+gaborik,
new+york+rangers,
philadelphia+flyers,
ruslan+fedotenko,
ryan+callahan,
stu+bickel,
washington+capitals,
winter+classic
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About Goal Line Report
Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
For questions, comments and hip checks, feel free to e-mail Patrick at patrickhoffman3530@gmail.com.