RANGERS DOMINATE FLYERS AT MSG ONCE AGAIN
It doesn’t seem to matter which color the Rangers wear at home as long as they are playing their division rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. Wearing their usual road white jerseys at Madison Square Garden, Cam Talbot led the Blueshirts to an important 2-0 victory.
Coming off an embarrassing effort against Tampa Bay earlier this week, the Rangers knew they needed to bounce back in a big way.
“We were doing it together as a team in groups of fives,” Dan Girardi said following the ninth consecutive win against the Flyers at The Garden. “Everyone was back, in the neutral zone everyone was playing together… It’s tough for teams to make plays and break out when we are all in their face. It was definitely a big step forward for us but for this to really feel good its got to be another good effort in Buffalo”
Cam Talbot stopped all 31 shots the Flyers fired in his direction en route to recording his first shutout of the season.
“Our expectations are to get into the playoffs and challenge for the cup, you need a backup that could do what Cam did for us last year, which is play above .500," head coach Alain Vigneault said. "A real good performance and we need that from him (Cam Talbot). Hopefully that will give him the confidence that he needs to continue to do that for us.”
Kevin Klein scored the games first goal off a beautiful pass from Carl Hagelin just over five minutes into the first period. While several people are surprised about Klein’s offensive outbreak (four goals leading all Rangers defenseman) Dan Girardi remembers his offensive skill from Junior Hockey in Canada.
“I knew what kind of player he was then,” Girardi recalled. “He was actually a real offensive guy and solid defensively. He got a ton of points in juniors… He’s got a great shot and has been showing that. Since the trade he’s been a big player for us to keep things steady on the backend.”
Rick Nash continued to roll by scoring his 13th goal of the regular season on the power play midway through the second period. Dan Boyle seems to be getting more comfortable since returning from the broken hand he sustained on opening night back in October.
“That power play tonight gave us momentum,” Vigneault explained. “ It looked very poised with the puck and made the right plays. Got us a big goal and had some other great looks.”
Michael Del Zotto returned to the Garden for his first meeting against the club that drafted him in the first round in 2008. He left the game with a lower body injury early in the third period.
The Rangers have struggled putting a consistent product on the ice throughout the 2014-15 campaign so far but look to build off this win. They travel to Buffalo next to face the rebuilding Sabres on Friday night.
By: Scott Charles
WLIE 540 AM SPORTSTALKNY Staff Writer
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