Flyers-Rangers Preview: Carter Hart in Nets; How to Watch; How to Bet

Goaltender Carter Hart has pedestrian career numbers against the New York Rangers, but he will try to raise his early-season record to 6-0-1 Tuesday at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

The Philadelphia Flyers (5-2-1), one of the NHL’s most pleasant surprises, will  meet the Blueshirts (5-3-2) at Madison Square Garden.

Hart has been one of the NHL’s top goalies at the start of the season. He will face the gifted Igor Shesterkin. Both goalies have not lost in regulation this season.

A look at the game:

Game notes

• The Flyers have a 136-129-47 all-time record vs. the Rangers, including a 60-69-26 mark at The Garden.
• Travis Konecny leads the Flyers with 15 points (5-10) in 25 career games vs. the Rangers.
• New York’s Artemi Panarin has been a Flyers-killer in his career: 37 points (12-25) in 26 games vs. Philly.
• Mika Zibanejad, another Flyers killer, leads the Rangers in goals (6), and Panarin tops the team in points (16).
• Former Ranger Kevin Hayes paces the Flyers with 10 points (1-9), and Konecny has a team-best four goals.
• The Flyers are off to a strong start despite allowing the first goal in seven of eight games. They are living dangerously. “We just seem so tentative” at the start of games, said coach John Tortorella, the one-time Rangers bench boss.
• This will be the Flyers’ first road game of the month. They play nine road games in November, the most of any month.
• The Flyers are playing the front end of back-to-back games. They are in Toronto on Wednesday.
• Philly has allowed the fifth-fewest goals per game (2.63) in the NHL.
• The Flyers’ PP is 17th in the NHL (21.4% success rate), while he Rangers’ is 12th (23.7%).
• On the PK, Philly is 12th (80.8%), and the Rangers are 17th (79.3%).
• The Flyers are just 29th in the NHL in faceoffs (44%). Yes, they miss Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier in that department.
  

                                                                                                                      Projected lineups

• Line 1: Kevin Hayes centering Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny.
• Line 2: Scott Laughton centering Noah Cates and Owen Tippett.
• Line 3: Morgan Frost centering Kieffer Bellows and Zack MacEwen.
• Line 4: Lukas Sedlak centering Nick Deslauriers and Wade Allison.
• Defense: Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo; Travis Sanheim and Justin Braun; Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen.
• Goalie: Carter Hart.

Rangers

Expected lineup tonight vs. #Flyers, too. https://t.co/28BXf0jgFl

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) November 1, 2022

Projected goalie matchup

Carter Hart (2.31 GAA, .938 save percentage), who is 5-0-1, is slated to face the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin (5-0-1, 2.55, .913).

In his career against the Rangers, Hart is 4-4 with a 3.34 GAA and .881 save percentage.

Shesterkin, who won the Vezina as the NHL’s best goalie last season, is 3-3-1 in his career vs. the Flyers, compiling a 2.58 GAA and .926 save percentage.

How to watch

The 7 p.m. game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia. (The Phillies-Astros start at 8 in Game 3 of the World Series.)

How to bet

Money line: Rangers are minus-270, Flyers are plus-220.

Pick: Rangers, 4-2.

Prediction record: 3-5.

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