Flyers vs Rangers game three starts tonight at 8 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. The Rangers split their opening home stand of the Rangers vs Flyers series, surrendering home ice advantage to the Flyers as the two teams head to Philadelphia for games three and four.
The Flyers are playing without their starting net minder, Steve Mason. Mason was injured on April 12, in the game before the Flyers’ final regular season game. The Flyers had already sewn up a playoff position, but like many teams, they were still jockeying for position going into the final day of regulation play . The Flyers have received solid play from backup Ray “The Razor” Emory as they split the first two games against the New York Rangers. According to an AP report , Emory had this to say about his role on the team:
“The more frequently you play, the more comfortable you are in net. I appreciate being in there in consecutive games. I’m kind of a Band-Aid there while Mase gets better…Any experience definitely helps, but seeing a team be successful in the playoffs, seeing the ups and downs a team has to go through to win a championship definitely leads to a positive experience that you can learn from.”
Emery was streaky, with a 9-12 record and a.903 Save percentage in the regular season, but he has been solid as can be in the playoffs. He gave up two goals in the Flyers’ game two win and four in a 4-1 loss in which his performance wasn’t as bad as you might imagine if you missed the Flyers vs Rangers game and just read the box score. Mason isn’t expected to dress for tonight’s game, but the Flyers have expressed optimism that he might be able to return for game four on Friday.
For their part, the Rangers come into Philadelphia tonight trying to snatch back home advantage in the Flyers vs Rangers series. It won’t be easy. The Rangers haven’t won in Philadelphia all year, going 0-2 in their trips to Philly so far.
The AP quotes Rangers center iceman Brad Richards saying this going into game three in Philadelphia:
“It’s going to be a loud building, and they’re going to come. Our regular season road record doesn’t really matter unless we can win some road games in this series. That’s all we’re really looking at. It doesn’t matter what we did before. Starting tomorrow we need to go in and try and win a game.”
Make sure you catch all of the action in tonight’s Rangers vs Flyers game three. If the game isn’t covered in your area, or you find yourself away from the action, you can watch the game streaming online live here .
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