PHILADELPHIA – The Flyers were eliminated form the NHL post season race, officially, this weekend, so their match with the New York Rangers was nothing more than a formality for them.
For the Rangers, it must have meant something more.
Center Boo Nieves (#24), Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) and Defenseman Brady Skjei (#76) of the New York Rangers. Left Wing Michael Raffl (#12) and Center Phil Varone (#44) of the Philadelphia Flyers
Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves to pick up his second NHL shutout, 3-0, over the Flyers.
Ryan Strome scored his 18th goal of the season for New York.
“Good to get a couple wins here,” Strome said. “It’s a tough building, they’ve got a bunch of older guys that know how to win. Good to come in here and play a pretty solid road game, good for the group to have a little more confidence moving forward.”
A day after being shut out of the playoff race, the Flyers were anything but involved in the matched.
“We’re a frustrating team right now,” the Flyers’ Claude Giroux said. “We’re our own worst enemy. These games are hard, they’re not easy. Especially at home, we need to play better.”
Pavel Buchnevich opened the scoring with his 20th strike of the year; it was also his 100th NHL point.
“He’s a guy with a lot of talent,” Rangers head coach David Quinn said. “He’s come a long way in the past four months. He should be a 20-goal scorer, a 30-goal scorer in this League.”
Brady Skjei added an “excuse me” goal on a wrister from the left point that skipped through Flyers defenders and into the net for a 3-0 lead.
The Strome goal was his 18th of the season, career best.
“Just try to show up, work hard,” Strome said. “I think [Quinn] has been pretty consistent with me. His message has been just try to make an impact on the game even if I’m not scoring. With that mindset I’ve been able to have some success. Just try to go into games and win draws, do the PK, chip in where I can. I think at this point in my career it’s about finding a role here and that’s what I’ve done. Nice to see he pucks go in but that’s a bonus I think. Just do the right things and good things will happen.”
Georgiev made it all stand up the rest of the way.
“I think I played a pretty good positional game,” Georgiev said. “I tried to be square to the puck and be patient on my feet. … I’m not really counting [the consecutive saves]. You try to play the game well because any second can be a scoring chance and some crazy bounce.”
[WATCH: All Rangers vs. Flyers highlights]
Carter Hart made 22 saves in the loss.
“I think the execution wasn’t there today,” Flyers forward Jakub Voracek said. “Every time we had a good look we would hit something like a stick or a skate or something like that. I think it was all about execution, which we didn’t have today.”
Left Wing James van Riemsdyk (#25) of the Philadelphia Flyers screens Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers
Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers, Center Corban Knight (#10) of the Philadelphia Flyers and Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (#22) of the New York Rangers
Goalie Carter Hart (#79) of the Philadelphia Flyers Defenseman Brendan Smith (#42) of the New York Rangers Center Sean Couturier (#14) of the Philadelphia Flyers
Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers covers the puck to prevent a rebound
Left Wing James van Riemsdyk (#25) of the Philadelphia Flyers looks for the rebound against Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers
Center Nolan Patrick (#19) of the Philadelphia Flyers attempts a screen against Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers
Right Wing Jakub Voracek (#93) of the Philadelphia Flyers and Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (#40) of the New York Rangers
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (#53) of the Philadelphia Flyers and Center Brett Howden (#21) of the New York Rangers
Center Nolan Patrick (#19) of the Philadelphia Flyers and Defenseman Brady Skjei (#76) of the New York Rangers
Center Sean Couturier (#14) of the Philadelphia Flyers pursued by Defenseman Brady Skjei (#76) of the New York Rangers
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