New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers Preview, Score & Results

Frank Doyle has previews and predictions for all of the NHL playoffs’ opening-round series. This time he breaks down the New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers. Check out all of Sports Interaction’s NHL Stanley Cup odds here.

Odds: New York Rangers -139 Philadelphia Flyers +104

New York Rangers:

You just can’t get a better opening-round matchup in the NHL playoffs than Rangers vs. Flyers. The two clubs split four meetings this season with the home team winning each game. New York comes into the series well-rested after resting Martin St. Louis, Henrik Lundqvist, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh in the regular season finale in Montreal – a game that meant nothing to the Blueshirts in the standings. With coach Alain Vigneault striking a balance between defence and a balanced puck-possession offense, the Rangers picked up a point in 11 of their last 13 games. New York now has three competent scoring lines, a shutdown fourth line and a deep defence corps in front of Henrik Lundqvist. The Blueshirts finished third in NHL money standings, earning almost 20 units for their supporters this year.

Other NHL playoffs series previews:

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings

Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues

Boston Bruins vs. Detroit Red Wings

Philadelphia Flyers:

You know what you’re going to get from the Flyers – a team that will be in your face from the opening puck drop until the final buzzer. Craig Berube took over for Peter Laviolette just three games into the season and was tasked with getting this team on the right track. It took a while, but the Flyers managed to put a dreadful start behind them to claim third place in the Metropolitan Division. Claude Giroux was a big part of that resurgence as he finished third in NHL scoring and the team had seven 20-goal scorers so offence isn’t usually an issue. The same can’t be said about the club’s goaltending. Steve Mason has had a bounce-back year but both he and backup Ray Emery are susceptible to bad games. The Flyers had just three regulation wins in the final 12 games of the regular season.

Key factors:

Goaltending and discipline will decide this series. If Mason returns from his shoulder injury (which is considered minor) and holds up his end of the bargain, it could be a long series. The Rangers always generate a lot of shots, but sometimes go cold hitting the back of the net. Philadelphia needs to stay out of the penalty box while getting as much traffic as possible in front of Lundqvist. This is when the Rangers really need Martin St. Louis to start clicking consistently with Rick Nash and Derek Stepan.

Prediction:

In the end, Lundqvist is the difference between two closely-matched rivals. Philadelphia may have a slight edge in forward depth and the Rangers probably have a similar advantage on the blue line. The big difference is in the crease, where The King can take control of the entire series.

Pick: New York Rangers win in six games

Results:

Game 1: 4-1 New York

Game 2: 4-2 Philadelphia

Game 3: 4-1 New York

Game 4: 2-1 Philadelphia

Game 5: 4-2 New York