Henrik Lundqvist did everything he could for the New York Rangers on Friday afternoon, and for most of their game against the Philadelphia Flyers he at least give them a shot to stay in it.
In the end, though, his 42 saves were not anywhere near enough as Sean Couturier and the Flyers eventually wore him and the Rangers’ defense down and broke through on their way to a 4-0 win, snapping what had been a four-game losing streak.
The Flyers received goals from Travis Konecny, Jordan Weal, and a pair from Couturier, as well as 31 saves from goalie Calvin Pickard, to roll to a win that was a lot tighter than the final score might indicate.
With less than nine minutes to play in regulation the Flyers were clinging to a 1-0 lead as they continued to fire shots at Lundqvist, unable to break through and add any extra cushion on the scoreboard. It was during that time that Pickard made his best save of the day when he made a point-blank stop on a wide open Lias Andersson following a defensive breakdown by the Flyers, and then had a little luck on his side when an Anthony DeAngelo shot rang off the post.
Just 20 seconds after DeAngelo struck iron, Couturier scored his first goal of the day to double the Flyers’ lead.
That was when the floodgates finally opened for the Flyers offensively.
Weal added an empty net goal just three minutes later, and then with Lundqvist back in the net Couturier scored his second of the game just 25 seconds later. He also assisted on Konecny’s goal in the first period to give him his fourth multi-point game of the season.
Couturier’s big performance continued what has been a massive hot streak for him. After recording just three points in his first 11 games, Couturier has been on a roll ever since and has now scored seven goals and eight assists in his past 11 games. He is now up to 10 goals and 18 total points in 22 games this season. After a breakout season a year ago offensively that saw him top the 30-goal and 75-point mark, he is now on pace to top his goal-scoring numbers (now on a 37-goal pace) and once again come close to 70 points.
Along with the three points, he also finished with a game-high 11 total shot attempts, including eight on goal. When he was on the ice during 5-on-5 play the Flyers attempted 70 percent of the total shot attempts. It was a truly dominant showing by him and his line.
The Rangers, who have been an early surprise this season and were 9-2-1 in their previous 12 games entering Friday, maintain a spot in the top-three of the Metropolitan Division even with the loss, while the Flyers were able to get two points closer in the standings.
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
—
Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.