Second period goals from Claude Giroux and Dan Carcillo have given the Flyers a 3-1 lead heading into the third period at Madison Square Garden. Brian Boucher has 24 saves as the Flyers look to win their fourth straight over the Rangers this season.
Giroux’s goal came on the power play just after Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist had made a great save on a Jeff Carter shot from close range. Carter was able to collect the rebound and as he skated past the net, flipped a backhand pass to the top of the slot where Claude Giroux was waiting to fire it home, giving the Flyers their first lead. It was basically the reverse of the Flyers opening goal, which saw Giroux feeding Carter with a great pass for a goal.
The Flyers second goal of the period came from an unlikely source in Dan Carcillo. Carcillo had fallen down behind the play, so the Rangers appeared to lose track of him. Braydon Coburn was able to fight through a few Ranger checkers up near the blue line to wrist a pass into Carcillo, who was waiting by himself right in front of Lundqvist. The Rangers goalie made a nice save on Carcillo’s initial shot, but Carcillo chased the puck down to Lundqvist’s right and with a Ranger defenseman now draped on his back, the Flyers tough guy pushed a back hand on net that slipped through the 5 hole for a 3-1 lead. The shot didn’t have much on it and it will probably be seen as a soft goal from Rangers fans, but that certainly doesn’t discount the effort from Carcillo on his fourth goal of the season.
There’s just one period to go in New York on what NBC has termed “Hockey Day In America.”