Game 68, Preview and Game Thread: Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers

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#6 Philadelphia Flyers (36-27-4, 76 pts) at #9 New York Rangers (30-29-9, 69 pts)
Madison Square Garden – 3:00 PM ET – New York, NY
TV: CSN Philly HD, MSG HD
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 204
This is the open game thread.
Get the New York perspective at Blueshirt Banter
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It usually takes about 90 minutes to get from Philadelphia to New York. Last night, it took the Flyers about seven. Thanks to a reeee-diculous storm that battered the Delaware Valley and the Jersey shore which caused power outages across the Garden State, the Flyers had to get off their NY Penn bound Amtrak train in Metuchen and take a bus the rest of the way to Manhattan.

Now safely in New York, today’s game should be fun, huh? It’s the first time these two teams have met since Dan Carcillo beat up Marian Gaborik, and it’s clear that revenge is really the only thing on the minds of the Rangers.

Sean Avery has been a healthy scratch. Not today. Tough guy Jody Shelley will be the Rangers ‘answer’ from a physical stand point. Look for him to challenge Carcillo at some point during his three minutes of ice time, while Danny will likely shrug him off and go assist a Mike Richards goal.

There’s no honor in that, you know?

Meanwhile, what the Rangers really should be doing is focusing on not being a bad hockey team. They’re three points out of the last playoff spot, and with a loss to the Flyers today, they could really dig their hole a lot deeper. It’s a huge game for them. For the Flyers, it’s a huge game as well, as they continue to ride the emotional high from Saturday’s thrilling 3-2 win over Chicago.

Michael Leighton is in goal again today after a spectacular performance a day ago. He’ll be challenged by an offense that’s much, much worse that Chicago’s. New York sucks.

After the jump, lineups, questions, and our in-game discussion.

Flyers Line Combinations

Gagne – Richards – Carcillo
Briere – Giroux- Hartnell
van Riemsdyk – Carter – Leino
Powe – Betts – Laperriere

Pronger – Carle
Timonen – Krajicek
Parent – Coburn

Laviolette wouldn’t tip his hand on any lineup changes from yesterday, saying that ‘everyone will take warmups.’ No ****, man.

New York Line Combinations

Prospal – Jokinen – Gaborik
Dubinsky – Anisimov – Callahan
Prust/Avery – Christensen – Drury
Shelley – Boyle – Lisin/Avery

Staal – Rozsival
Del Zotto – Girardi
Redden (lol) – Gilroy

Not sure where Avery fits in there, but my guess is he replaces Prust or Lisin.

Starting Goaltenders


GP MIN W L EGA GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Michael Leighton 32 1731 17 8 80 2.77 873 793 .908 1



GP MIN W L EGA GA GAA SA SV SV% SO
Henrik Lundqvist 59 3393 27 23 140 2.48 1718 1578 .919 2



Questions to Answer

  1. Do emotions actually spill over today in the aftermath of the Gaborik incident, or do the Rangers realize that they should’ve done something weeks ago and that the statute of limitations is clearly up on this ‘offense’?
  2. Can Henrik Lundqvist keep his team in this game today?
  3. All joking about the Rangers impotence aside, their top line of Gaborik, Jokinen and Prospal can actually put some pucks in the net. Can the Flyers successfully shut them down?
  4. Will Carcillo fight Shelley?
  5. Can Michael Leighton duplicate his stellar Saturday performance?

Today’s game is on CSN Philly and 610 WIP. New York sucks. Join us here for the in-game discussion, and as always, LET’S GO FLYERS!

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