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GIF Rewind: van Riemsdyk scores with his face & stick, Elliott robs Rangers in 3-2 win

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Brian Elliott James van Riemsdyk

The Philadelphia Flyers went into Madison Square Garden with a bitter taste in their mouths. Their last game at MSG was the infamous 9-0 loss to the Rangers on March 17th. They left as winners on Thursday night.

Brian Elliott was fantastic in net, James van Riemsdyk was a warrior, and Jakub Voracek sniped the eventual game-winning goal in the third period.

Let’s get right to it.

First period

The Rangers got a great scoring chance right out of the gate. After the Flyers won the faceoff in the Rangers zone, New York came down the ice and Colin Blackwell was in all alone on Brian Elliott. Elliot had the answer.

 

The Rangers controlled most of the first several minutes outside of a few good shifts by the Joel FarabeeKevin HayesWade Allison line.

Farabee and Allison, in particular, were strong on the forecheck and the rookie had a great chance in front.

 

Then, after already controlling most of the play, the Rangers went to the game’s first power play as Philippe Myers was called for slashing.

The Flyers killed off the penalty and even had a shorthanded chance, but it didn’t really matter. Brendan Smith opened the scoring before Myers could even get back into the play.

The Rangers nearly made it 2-0 after Filip Chytil made Robert Hagg look silly, but he hit the post.

 

Claude Giroux was interfered with for the Flyers’ first power play of the game.

Allison nearly scored again on a great passing play, but he was denied.

The Flyers allowed two odd-man rushes and took a penalty on the second one.

This time, after some 4-on-4 play, the Flyers successfully killed off the penalty and the Rangers didn’t score for the rest of the period.

They didn’t lack in chances, though. Elliott had to make three tough saves in close.

 

The Flyers trailed 14-11 in shots and 1-0 on the scoreboard after one period of play.

Second period

It was a better second period for the Flyers, but not by much.

They had some early pressure after Claude Giroux got a shot off for one of the Flyers’ best chances of the game to that point.

 

Wade Allison kept up his strong play by setting up Ivan Provorov from behind the net for a good shot.

The Flyers got a power play, but couldn’t do much with it. Allison had a nice tip on a Shayne Gostisbehere shot for a chance on the man advantage.

 

Then, the Rangers went to the power play again.

Brian Elliott was tremendous in this one and that was highlighted by this absolute robbery on Artemi Panarin.

 

The Rangers then had a wide-open net to shoot at but missed wide.

A weak call went in the Flyers’ favor in the latter stages of the second period and they cashed in.

Travis Konecny shot the puck on net and it bounced in off of James van Riemsdyk’s face.

Dirty but good!

That has to be one of the most painful goals of JVR’s career. He immediately went to the locker room.

 

But he returned in the third period wearing a jaw protector.

 

The Flyers had a few chances to take a lead into the second intermission, but they couldn’t. First, Provorov was stoned by Igor Shesterkin. Then, Allison sent Farabee on a breakaway, which resulted in a penalty shot.

 

But he couldn’t convert.

The Flyers and Rangers were tied at one after two periods of play. Things picked up for the Orange and Black as the period moved along, they flipped the script and outshot the Rangers 14-11 in the second.

Third period

The Flyers kept the momentum going into the third period.

Farabee had yet another chance in alone, but couldn’t solve Shesterkin.

The top line went to work in the offensive zone for a few good chances and eventually drew a high-sticking penalty.

 

It was a double-minor and the Flyers needed both halves of it.

After returning with a face shield, James van Riemsdyk tipped home another power-play goal –– this time with his stick –– to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead!

 

That’s a true hockey player’s goal right there.

 

The Flyers turned it on as the game moved along and took a 3-1 lead thanks to a snipe by Jakub Voracek.

 

Brian Elliott kept the Flyers in the game early and the offense came alive to help him out.

The Rangers put the pressure back on with the goalie pulled. Artemi Panarin scored with two minutes left and that sinking feeling crept in.

Luckily, however, the Flyers pulled out the 3-2 win at Madison Square Garden.

The two teams will get right back at it at 7 p.m. ET on Friday night.

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Ryan is a proud graduate of Monmouth University. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers for the better part of a decade at various outlets, including Sons of Penn and Broad Street Hockey. Ryan has also worked for NHL.com and NBC Sports Regional Networks. Whether it's a GIF, quick stat, analysis, or long-form column, he's got you covered.

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