Season Saved in Sizzling Shootout

The good news for the New York Rangers was they actually had a chance at making the playoffs before yesterday. The bad news is they couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity. Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center was the host of a winner-take-all contest between the Flyers and Rangers Saturday. The 82nd game of the NHL season would determine whether or not the host team would advance to the post-season or go home. It turned out favorably for the Flyers, who wrapped up the seventh seed in the Eastern conference. The visiting Blueshirts were eliminated from playoff contention after being clipped 2-1 in a shootout.
The Rangers were staring at a 10th seed at the end of March, but went on a 7-1-1 run to essentially make Sunday a one-game playoff. New York netminder, Henrik Lundqvist made 46 stuffing saves in Sunday’s loss. The relentless Ranger goalie put on a spectacular performance in stopping all but one shot during regulation. He was without question the star of the Rangers yesterday. Philadelphia fired 18 shots during the first twenty minutes but couldn’t slip one past Lundqvist. The Rangers made just four shots on goal during that time. Jody Shelley’s dart at 3:27 in the opening period enabled the visitors to grab a 1-0 lead. Shelley’s deflection off Michal Rozsival’s shot skidded past Flyer goalie, Brian Boucher. The Blueshirts held the lead for over 40 minutes even after the Flyers applied pressure.
Matt Carle found a way to get the puck past the talented Lundqvist with 13:06 remaining in regulation. Philadelphia’s young defenseman flip from the slot on a third period power play tied the game at 1-1. Carle stormed the net to chip in a third-chance shot for his sixth of the season. The Flyers moved the puck extremely well the remainder of the game. Their tight defense didn’t allow the Rangers many opportunities to score. The Blueshits turned the puck over too many times, but their focused goalie kept them in the game. It was enough to outlast the Flyers into overtime. Philadelphia tested Lundqvist with 15 shots in the second period before the game went to overtime. The Flyers made two more attempts in the extra session, but Lundqvist turned both aside. New York’s two attempts also went for naught and the heated battle would be decided in a shootout.
Danny Briere beat Lundqvist on backhand to forehand move for the first goal in Round 1 of the shootout. Boucher stopped the Rangers’ Erik Christensen on New York’s first attempt before Philadelphia captain, Mike Richards, was denied by Lundqvist. P.A. Parenteau tied the shootout by pinching in a goal in Round 2 for the Rangers. Claude Giroux joined the goal-scoring club when he found the back of the net in Round 3 to lift the Flyers to a 2-1 advantage. New York’s season came down to Olli Jokinen’s final attempt. Boucher’s diving stuff of Jokinen’s slap sent the Rangers home losers after 65 well-fought minutes of hockey. For Philadelphia, the season will continue at least through one round of the playoffs. The Flyers travel to nearby New Jersey for a playoff meeting with the second seeded Devils. Philadelphia was a Stanley Cup favorite in the beginning of the season but almost missed out on the playoffs.

Parting Points: Pittsburgh/West Virginia area sports news : Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t charged with sexual assault and teammate Santonio Holmes was traded to the Jets. Mountaineers’ sophomore, Devin Ebanks, is leaving WVU for the NBA draft.

Congrats to Phil Mickelson on winning his third Masters.