5 Things: Flyers vs. Rangers

The 2024 annual Black Friday matinee pits John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (10-10-3) against Peter Laviolette’s New York Rangers (12-8-4). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EST.

The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic with a 24-hour online simulcast on Flyers Radio.

Philly is coming off an unlikely 3-2 overtime road win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. After being at a major territorial disadvantage all night and trailing 2-1 in the final half minute of regulation time, the Flyers tied the game with 12 seconds left, forcing overtime. Sean Couturier scored the winning goal in sudden death after Morgan Frost scored the equalizer. Both goals were scored through redirects. Scott Laughton scored a short-side goal in the first period.

The arch-rival Rangers travel to Philadelphia looking to end their four-game losing streak. The Blueshirts are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. After a 2:6 defeat against the Edmonton Oilers and a 2:5 home defeat against the St. Louis Blues, the Rangers suffered a 4:3 defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Wednesday evening.

Here are five things to watch on Friday:

1. Puck management is crucial

Dating back to the 2021/22 season, the Flyers are 2-6-3 in direct games against the Rangers. The common theme in most of the losses was errors in puck management and/or structural failures.

Last year’s Black Friday game (November 24, 2023) was a prime example of the Flyers getting it wrong all too often against the Rangers.

In a 3-1 loss to the Rangers, the Flyers made two costly 2-on-1 attacks and paid dearly for losing the ball on a faceoff in the defensive zone. The latter 2-on-1 was a rare 200-foot goal that started with a faceoff loss in the offensive zone, a forecheck error and a defender going to the wrong spot.

In this game, a few mistakes negated an otherwise strong performance (37:19 shots on the goal line, territory advantage in all three periods). There were also some offensive frustrations with finishing chances, which resulted in an otherwise winnable game being lost.

On the other hand, in the last meeting of last year’s season series, the Flyers achieved a 4-1 victory in a competitive game at Madison Square Garden. The Flyers kept their playoff hopes alive by playing with the kind of deliberate urgency that was desperately needed.

2. Konecny ​​​​the catalyst

The Flyers All-Star right winger had the best start of his NHL career in the first quarter of the regular season. It’s not just because he leads the Flyers with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in the first 23 games. He also delivered in key moments.

In the Flyers’ overtime win over Chicago on November 23, Konecny’s sudden-death saucer pass to Matvei Michkov set up the power-play winner. On Wednesday, Konecny ​​created Couturier’s winning one-handed redirect scoring sequence.

Konecny ​​​​has scored at least one point in 10 of the last 11 games. During this time he scored six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. His last two goals came against the Buffalo Sabers in the November 16 game at the Wells Fargo Center.

3. Couturier on the hunt for goals

Flyers captain Couturier had scored in three straight games heading into the Black Friday game. During this period, he doubled his season goal tally from three (all in the game against the Minnesota Wild on October 26th) to six goals.

A strong two-way game from the two-time Selke Trophy finalist against the Rangers would go a long way in helping the Flyers win in Friday’s game. The Flyers need a win to move above hockey .500 for the season for the first time since winning the shootout on opening night in Vancouver.

4. Special teams outlook

The Flyers’ power play has slipped to 24th on the power play with an efficiency rate of 16.7. In 12 games in November, the team has a man advantage of 4-for-33 (12.1 percent).

The Flyers rank 9th in the NHL on penalty kills with an 82.8 percent success rate. This month the team achieved a kill rate of 25-29 (82.8 percent). However, the Flyers have scored three opposing power play goals in their last 12 PK opportunities.

New York’s power play ranks 15th in the league at 20.4 percent. The PK is in second place with 87.0 percent.

5. Behind Enemy Lines: Rangers’ main weapons

In recent years, it has usually been a combination of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox and/or Chris Kreider that has done the most damage to the Flyers.

This season, Panarin (as usual) leads the Rangers offensively with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists). Offensive defenseman Fox has 18 points, all from assists. Zibanejad has 15 points (4g, 11a) and an uncharacteristic -12 rating, while Will Cuylle has nine goals, 18 points and a +12 rating.

Kreider, who is currently dealing with a day-to-day injury, has been struggling of late but has scored nine goals this season. Alexis Lafreniere recently signed a contract extension and has eight goals and 16 points.

Igor Shesterkin hasn’t been living up to his usually elite standards lately. Overall, Shesterkin (8-7-1, 2.98 GAA, .911 save percentage, one shutout) has made 16 starts. Veteran Jonathan Quick (4-1-0, 1.85 GAA, .943 SV, two shutouts) has made five starts and one relief appearance.