The 5-1 win over the Islanders yesterday was nice, but expected. Today the Flyers made a much bigger statement by dominating the Rangers at MSG 5-2.
Mike Richards became the first player in NHL history to score three 5-on-3 shorthanded goals (his SH tally in the second gave the Flyers a 2-0 lead), and Claude Giroux continued his hot play with a goal and two assists. If the youngster can keep playing like this it’ll add yet another offensive threat on a team full of guys who can find the back of the net. The Flyers put a five spot on the board, and that was with Jeff Carter not even registering a point. That’s a scary prospect for the rest of the NHL.
My only concern? The Flyers were outshot yet again (37-20) and seemed to lay back once they had a 5-0 lead. It seems a bit nit-picky after two big wins this weekend, but the defense really needs to step up and limit the workload of the goaltenders. Giving up that many shots isn’t going to fly once the playoffs roll around. Give big time credit to Marty Biron, stepping up to start back-to-back games for Antero Niittymaki (who was out with the flu). Biron stopped 73 out of 76 shots he faced this weekend, and it really goes without saying that if he can keep up this level of play the Flyers will have a great shot at winning the East.
