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NHL on NBC: Flyers look to remain red-hot vs. Rangers

Flyers red-hot in 2020 Rangers preview

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 28: Philippe Myers #5 and Jakub Voracek #93 of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrate after defeating the New York Rangers 5-2 on February 28, 2020 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

NBC’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. Coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

For most of 2019-20, it looked like the Flyers would battle for a wild-card spot. Following some recent red-hot play, the Flyers might be able to aim even higher. Beating the Rangers on NBC on Sunday could strengthen their unlikely hold on the second seed in the Metro.

Could the Flyers actually pull this off against the plummeting Penguins? Such a thought is increasingly reasonable as Philly is in the middle of a five-game winning streak (while Pittsburgh lost its sixth in a row on Saturday).

Even if the Flyers merely settle for getting back in the playoffs, they’re looking more and more like a tough out.

More on the Flyers being red-hot for most of 2020

Most obviously, the Flyers hope to improve upon what is currently a five-game winning streak. Jakub Voracek reflected on Philly’s hot ways after collecting four assists in the Flyers’ 5-2 Friday victory against these same Rangers.

“We’re not there yet, but I think if we’re going to continue to play the way we do, we can make a run,” Voracek said, via Dan Rosen of NHL.com. " ... Everything has to be clicking. It’s clicking right now. We just have to make sure it’s clicking in a month and a half.”

The Flyers’ winning streak only begins to explain how red-hot they are. Since Jan. 8, the Flyers boast an impressive 15-5-1 record, outscoring opponents 77-53.

Gaining at least one round of home-ice advantage could be a real boon for this team, in particular. The Flyers are scary at home (23-5-4) while being merely middling on the road (14-15-3) so far this season.

Carter Hart probably displays the most dramatic disparity. The 21-year-old looks all-world at home in 2019-20, going 18-2-2 with an outstanding .941 save percentage. On the road, he turns into a sub-backup pumpkin (3-10-1, .855).

One would assume that some of those numbers are coincidental ... but maybe a quirky trend could perpetuate itself? For all we know, the difference between the Flyers winning or losing a close potential playoff series could come down to who was at home in a Game 7.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12 P.M. ET ON NBC]

Outlasting opponents

An 82-game NHL regular season is a serious grind. Smarter teams should find ways to preserve players -- particularly prominent ones -- for playoff battles and other bigger games.

It sounds like Flyers coach Alain Vigneault is paying such arguments some mind. James van Riemsdyk mentioned that he’s felt fresher than he has in years, as this great in-depth feature from NBC Sports Philadelphia notes.

Combining that “sports science stuff” with possibly possessing better skaters might explain the Flyers’ recent surge, not to mention how strong they are at closing out games. That NBC Sports Philadelphia piece points out that the Flyers have generated 79 third-period goals, managing a +25 differential.

“I think the way we skate. I think we’re skating really good and that’s why we’re winning a lot of games because we outskate the other teams,” Voracek said on Thursday. “The starts are so-so, the first periods are so-so, the other teams have a lot of energy, but the second and third periods, I think we’ve been really strong all season long.

“That’s really important for us, when it’s going down to the wire, we can be confident about winning the game.”

A hard-skating, open-minded team that’s hard to beat at home? The Flyers are sounding more and more like an opponent others want to avoid. We’ll see if that pattern holds against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will have the call from Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Sunday’s studio coverage on NBC will be hosted by Liam McHugh with analysts Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.