Rangers Knock Flyers Out of Playoffs with 2-1 Game 7 Victory
NEW YORK – All it takes is one mistake. In a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the margin of error is ridiculously slim.
The Flyers made a big one in the game's 44th minute. Then, they made a lot more.
Former Flyer Dan Carcillo capitalized with a back-door goal and from there, things snowballed worse and worse until the final buzzer with the scoreboard reading New York Rangers 2, Flyers 1.
Time of death: 9:44 p.m. The Flyers' season is over.
They lost their first Game 7 since May 22, 2004 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team full of comebacks, including returning from a series deficit three times against the Rangers, was tapped out of magic and ran out of time.
After a great first period, things fell apart for the Flyers in the second stanza. New York took a bench minor only 39 seconds into the period and the Flyers had nothing going on their power play.
In fact, Rick Nash matched the Flyers in shots on their own man advantage. Steve Mason came up huge with a shorthanded save and was called upon far too often.
As the penalty expired, the Rangers mounted pressure and a back-door pass eluded both Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn. Carcillo banged it home on a one-timer, his second goal of the series.
The tally came just after Mason made two show-stopping saves. He made 31 in all in the final game and was the Flyers' best player by far. By the second intermission, it could have been 7-0 were it not for the goaltender.