When it comes to hockey, March is typically thought of as the point in the season when defense is emphasized and avoiding mistakes is the top priority. Teams chasing playoff spots like the Philadelphia Flyers know that every goal could be the difference between playing into the back half of April or hitting the golf course in just a couple of weeks.
But Tuesday’s game between the Flyers and New York Rangers felt like the average March game from a different sport — college basketball. Madness at this time of year is typically associated with the hardwood, not the hockey rink. Yet it was also an apt description for the 11-goal heartstopper the teams played at Madison Square Garden last night. Seven of those goals came in the third period, which featured four different ties, the last of which wouldn’t be broken until beyond regulation.
Flyers Took Deserved Lead Into 3rd Period
Though it took a while for the first lamp to be lit, the Flyers weren’t messing around when the puck dropped. At the end of 20 minutes, they collected 67.45% of the expected goals at 5-on-5 (per Natural Stat Trick), outshooting the Rangers 15-9 overall and drawing the period’s only penalty.
That pressure eventually resulted in a payoff early in the second period. A beautiful touch pass by Travis Konecny sprung Scott Laughton cleanly into the offensive zone, finally beating Igor Shesterkin with the team’s 17th shot on goal of the game. New York responded to the goal well, but a penalty by Vincent Trocheck gave the Flyers another man advantage. After struggling in the first half of the power-play, Ryan Poehling rammed home a backdoor feed from Laughton to double the Philadelphia lead.
The Flyers didn’t make many mistakes in the first two periods, but one came late in the second when Tyson Foerster received a high-sticking penalty. Mika Zibanejad, who entered the night with more points against the Flyers than any other player in the NHL since 2019-20, added another with a snipe from the left face-off circle.
For the most part, the first 40 minutes felt like the type of game you’d expect between two teams in a playoff position: low-scoring, tight-checking with a little bit of animosity sprinkled in. But everything changed once the teams took the ice for the final frame of regulation.
Everything Breaks Loose in the Third Period
After just three pucks found the back of the net in the first two periods, the Rangers scored two goals just 2:57 into the third, taking their first lead of the game. A turnover by Erik Johnson cost the Flyers the equalizer, with Jonny Brodzinski burying a quick centering feed from Kappo Kakko that resulted from the giveaway. Brodzinski was a late addition to the lineup, with Alex Wennberg scratched due to personal reasons.
Just moments later, Alexis Lafrenière popped an improbable goal past Samuel Ersson, pouncing on a bouncing puck that caromed off the glove of Travis Sanheim, who was trying to save the initial bounce from resulting in a goal. Suddenly, the Rangers had the lead and a locked-in Shesterkin (25 saves on 27 shots through two periods) staring down Philadelphia’s shooters.
However, it would take the Flyers just three shots and 4:40 of game time to draw back even. A bad angle shot that missed the target from Jimmy Vesey caromed in the perfect spot to spring Konecny and Owen Tippett on a 2-on-1. Konecny buried a career-high-tying 31st goal on the rush, putting the Flyers back in position to earn a point.
What seemed like it may be a stabilizing goal only kickstarted a chaotic conclusion to regulation. Twice, the Rangers took the lead — the first a short-handed goal by Vincent Trocheck, set up by none other than Zibanejad, the second another fortunate goal for Lafrenière after the puck found him off a Travis Konecny shot block. And twice, the Flyers responded, getting bounces of their own when a Tippett backhander hit the post only to bank in off Shesterkin and then again when budding rookie Tyson Foerster evened the tally amid a mad scramble at the net mouth with just 3:31 remaining.
This wasn’t even the first time in recent memory the Flyers had a seven-goal third period. It happened just 10 days ago when they entered the third period tied 2-2 with the Boston Bruins. Philadelphia quickly fell behind 5-2, and although they cut the lead to one twice, fell in regulation by a 6-5 final.
Overtime Loss Ends Brutal Portion of Flyers’ Schedule
Ultimately, the Flyers would also lose this contest by a 6-5 score as well. However, they did make it to overtime before Adam Fox wired a wrister past Ersson’s blocker to put an end to the chaos. That point matters more in the wake of the other two main teams competing for a playoff spot with the Flyers that played Tuesday — the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals — going to overtime in a head-to-head matchup.
Washington ultimately got the extra point in that contest courtesy of a Dylan Strome winner. The Capitals now have a decent edge on the Flyers in points percentage (.570 versus .562), although Philadelphia still has earned one more point, albeit with two extra games played. The Flyers stayed even with Detroit as a result, leading the Red Wings by three points with one extra game under their belt.
The New Jersey Devils bolstered their dark-horse chances with an impressive road win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, actually jumping the New York Islanders by one point. The Islanders do have two games in hand, but with the two teams six and seven points behind the Flyers, respectively, they will undoubtedly be facing an uphill battle.
Perhaps the best thing about this game for the Flyers is that it officially puts one of their most difficult portions of the season in the rearview mirror. Each of the team’s last seven games and nine of their last 10 have come against teams firmly in playoff position. Philadelphia survived that gauntlet with a respectable 4-4-2 record and has points in four of their last five. The Flyers aren’t sprinting toward a playoff berth like the Rangers (who became the first team in the league to clinch on Tuesday). But they aren’t limping as much as they seemed to be a week ago, either.
Just two of Philadelphia’s final 10 contests of the regular season come against teams currently in playoff position — an April 11 return to the Garden and a potential playoff-spot-deciding showdown with the Capitals in Philadelphia to end the season five days later. Matchups with the Buffalo Sabres (April 5 on the road) and Devils (April 13 at home) could also loom large, but it would take a major push for those teams to threaten for a spot.
The team’s defense could be getting a much-needed boost soon, too. Both Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale took part in Philadelphia’s morning skate, their first on-ice action with the team in quite some time. Seeler has been out since March 4 with a lower-body injury suffered on a shot block, while Drysdale has been sidelined with an injury to his left shoulder/arm sustained on a hit by Pittsburgh’s Jansen Harkins on Feb. 25.
Related: Prospect Alexsei Kolosov Leaving the KHL to Join the Flyers
The Flyers missed an opportunity to solidify their grip on a playoff position Tuesday. But they also avoided disaster and now can shift their focus from surviving elite team after elite team to bringing playoff hockey back to Philadelphia. Even though the team was unable to pick up a win in the standings, that is a victory in and of itself.