If you think getting pummeled 5-2 by the Rangers (see story) is bad, well, as Kimmo Timonen said it could be worse on Sunday in Detroit if the Flyers dont show up.
The Red Wings have won 19 straight on home ice and can tie the Flyers modern day NHL record of 20 which was set in 1976. The Bruins did it first back in 1929-30.
Claude Giroux made references to both the Red Wings and Rangers after todays 5-2 defeat.
We have to be better and we all know that, Giroux said. They are a good team and one of the best teams in the league. I mean if you want to win the cup, you have to find a way to beat those kinds of teams.
The Red Wings are pretty good too, so tomorrow we have to make sure that we battle better. We lost a lot of battles tonight. Those one on one battles, you have to make sure you win them. You can't be soft. Some plays hurt us tonight.
Wayne Simmonds echoed those thoughts.
Besides that Detroit record, we have to buckle down, he said. Weve only won one game over our last handful of five games.
NHL
The hat trick
Ranger Ryan Callahan had a hat trick against the Flyers on Saturday.
Anytime you get three goals, obviously you are excited, he said. Its a big game, especially with a team thats so close to you in the standings. I had some pretty easy, tap in goals there. So it wasnt all me tonight.
Why do the Rangers match up so much better against the Flyers this season?
I think its just a good match for both teams, Callahan said. They have been close games. A lot of these games could have gone either way. We are both physical teams that hang on the pucks down low.
They got a little more skill up front. For whatever reasons we have come out on top. We have to continue to do that. We are going to see them again. Hopefully, maybe in the playoffs too.
The officials
From the get-go, referees Chris Lee and Frederick LEcuyer seemed determined to put their reins on the game and they did, over officiating the entire afternoon.
Early on, the linesmen refused to allow Tommy Sestito and Stu Bickel to fight, so the two of them fought each other with one arm while each was being restrained by an official with the other.
Except they didnt get fighting majors but 10-minute misconducts with Sestito logging an extra minor for roughing, giving New York a quick power play.
Danny Briere went to the box to serve the extra minor and after that, Ryan Callahan scored on the Rangers power play with a wide-angle shot. Somehow Briere picked up a 10-minute misconduct in the box and was sent to the dressing room even though there was more than 11 minutes left on the clock.
Voracek hurt
Jakub Voracek was hit in the second period by Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh and did not return in the third period, though he took shifts after the hit in the second. General manager Paul Holmgren said that Voracek will travel to Detroit with an upper body injury.
Gordie Howe Hat Trick
Scott Hartnell picked up one on Thursday against Toronto and Simmonds had one against the Rangers, with a goal, an assist and a third-period fight against Brian Boyle. It was his first Gordie as a Flyer.
Loose pucks
Rangers have won seven straight vs. the Flyers, dating back to March 6, 2011a 7-0 shutout winZac Rinaldo and Brandon Dubinsky fought to a draw in the third periodRangers have outscored the Flyers, 19-8, in five games The Flyers are 4-8-1 this season in games that start before 7 pm. I dont know if its just the afternoons, Simmonds quipped. Its the 7 oclock games, too.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net