PHILADELPHIA – A few weeks into this season, it looked like the Flyers didn’t belong in the playoff picture, while the New York Rangers certainly did.
The reigning President’s Trophy holders were taking right up where they left off last year, racing to what eventually became a 12-4-1 mark. The Flyers? That 1-5-1 start certainly did them no favors.
But a lot has changed since mid-November.
The Rangers slumped, the Flyers suddenly caught their breath after that rocky getaway.
On Friday afternoon, the Flyers completed this role reversal, handing the Rangers their fifth straight loss, 3-1, at the Wells Fargo Center.
The victory pulled the Flyers into a points tie (25) with the Rangers although New York has one more win (12-11) and played fewer games (24-22) to technically hold onto fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.
For the first time since the opening game of the season, the Flyers moved their record above the .500 mark at 12-11-3
While the Flyers’ defense was nothing short of sensational, much of the credit for this win has to go to goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
The Russian didn’t see much work in the first period but when the Rangers finally did generate some shots, they were difficult ones. Fedotov was spotless.
Along with Aleksei Kolosov, Fedotov has really helped cover for the absence of No. 1 starter Samuel Ersson due to injury.
“Tough game for ‘Feds’ today, not much action,” said coach John Tortorella. “Watching that other guy (Igor Shesterkin) stand on his head. He made some really key saves at key times. ‘Koly’ has done the same thing. We don’t get a point at Nashville (a 3-2 come-from-behind win on Wednesday) unless he doesn’t play the way he has.
“Those two guys have done the job. Kept us in games. Important saves at important times. Those are the saves that are really key for us.”
Like the team, Fedotov got off to a slow start this season but Friday evened his record at 4-4-1.
It was Fedotov’s 28th birthday so a post-game serenade by his teammates in the locker room was extra sweet.
“The win, very good feeling,” he said. “We played as a team. Everybody played really good. Much better play in the neutral zone. We stuck together.”
Fedotov has won four of his last six games. Anything specific improve in his game?
“Everybody playing well,” he said. “If you lose every game, it doesn’t matter how you play. I would say I’m concentrating more on my game. Of course, you can’t always win. But you have to keep your mindset, your level at least medium and not up and down.”
Although the Flyers’ offense was efficient in the first period, it was their defense which stood out on the way to a 2-0 lead.
The Flyers didn’t allow the Rangers a shot on goal until the 11:11 mark and only allowed Fedotov to face a total of four shots for the period.
Bobby Brink got things started with a goal at 3:14 mark. Brink rushed down the middle, took a pass from Tyson Foerster in stride and beat Shesterkin from close range.
Just 70 seconds later, it was Travis Konecny’s turn to try a similar feat. Only this time Konecny took a pass from Sean Couturier, cruised in and swept past Shesterkin, then slid a backhander behind the goaltender.
New York played much better in the second period,
The Rangers generated 10 shots and finally got on the scoreboard at 10:20. Vincent Trocheck gained possession at the top of the slot and connected with a shot past Fedotov.
For the game, nearly all the Flyers got high marks from their coach.
“I thought right from the get-go, we were on our toes,” Tortorella said. “Our ‘D’ (defense) were up in the zone, we had good pinches. I thought right on through the game we played really well.”
Tortorella was asked if this was as close to a Grade-A game as the Flyers have played this season.
“This is the style of play we want to play,” he said. “We just played on our toes up ice.”
He keeps piling up the points and is once again playing at an All-Star level. In fact, he leads all NHL right wings in points and is tied for most goals since Oct. 26.
“I’m just playing,” he said. “Just trying to step up and do the best I can.”
Konecny’s overall play has picked up as well. He’s been as low as minus-9 but after a plus-2 on Friday, he’s come all the way back to a minus-1 for the season.
>Short shots
The Flyers finish off a two-games-in-two-days stretch when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. The Blues recently hired former Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery (a former Flyers player), who was fired by the Beantown crew just a week ago. . .Philadelphia have played nine overtime games this season and won six of them (6-3), tops in the NHL.
