The Rangers got exactly what they needed on Thursday night: a cleaner start, a steadier game from Dylan Garand, and a third period that finally tilted the night their way in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
After snapping a four-game losing streak with a victory over the St. Louis Blues, New York came out sharper than it had in recent outings and grabbed the first goal.
The play started with a shot from Marcus Pettersson, which J.T. Miller redirected from well out.
The goal was first credited to Miller before being changed to Gabe Perreault after review showed the puck went off him.
New York’s second line stood out early, and the Rangers looked much more organized in the opening frame than they have been at times this season. Garand also gave them a strong foundation right away, turning aside all nine shots he faced in the first period.
The game shifted in the second. Philadelphia tied it midway through the period when Simon Benoit scored his first of the season on a long shot from the blue line. Tyson Foerster picked up the assist, and the screen in front made it tough for Garand to track the puck.
The Flyers kept rolling after that and took the lead on Noel Acciari’s second goal of the season. Denver Barkey and Jamie Drysdale were credited with the assists, with Barkey driving the sequence. For the Rangers, it was a rough stretch: they allowed goals to two players who had combined for just one all season coming into the game.
New York also shuffled its forward lines again in the third period after looking flat. Perreault moved back to the first line, Bjorkstrand went to the second, and Dorofeyev dropped to the third.
The changes paid off late. On the power play, Pavel Dorofeyev tied the game with a clutch goal, and soon after Tye Kartye put the Rangers in front. From there, New York closed out the final 4:39 and escaped with the win.
Garand finished with 23 saves in a strong performance that helped push the Rangers through. Next up is the start of a West Coast and Canadian road trip, beginning Saturday against the Seattle Kraken.
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Greentree gave the Wolf Pack some needed offense, while Tung helped steady the net with a strong opening stretch that included his first AHL shutout. Coach Jay Leach singled out both players for the way they handled the start of the season, and for Rangers fans, that kind of early traction in Hartford is always worth watching closely because it can hint at who might be pushing for a bigger role down the line. [Read more 🡒]