The Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers are two rival teams, only 90 miles apart on the east coast. They lined up in position on the ice as the puck dropped at approximately 3:30 pm., and it was game time. The Winter Classic win counts toward team stats and is considered a regular season game. The Rangers entered the NHL Winter Classic with 50 points, while the Flyers trailed them by only two points. With a win in this game, the Flyers had a chance to tie for first place in the Atlantic Division. With a record crowd of 71, 217 fans for the NHL, the rival teams had plenty of fans to watch their faceoff.
The first period of play was underway with number 35, Sergei Bobrovsky starting in net for the Flyers and number 30, Henrik Lundqvist for the Rangers. The period remained tied at zero, but the Flyers showed power in a total of 12 shots while the Rangers had only 9. In the second period snow flurries began to fall, making the game a true Winter Classic. Game speed picked up quickly. The Flyers came out to shock the crowd with a goal scored in the first two minutes of play by front lineman, Brayden Schenn. Fans in the crowd went wild and cheered for Schenn as it was his first career goal in the NHL. Flyers didn’t lose their drive after this goal; they followed up with another scored by right wing, Claude Giroux in an offensive-zone face off. The Rangers reacted to this lead as center, Mike Rupp took a slap shot and scored a goal on Bobrovsky. Flyers defenseman, Andrej Meszaros, failed to pressure Rupp, so he took opportunity of the space given and made the shot. At moments like these, Flyers fans can’t help wishing for Chris Pronger.
Third period begins with Flyers in the lead by 1, but this isn’t much of a lead. Rangers wanted a win just as badly as the Flyers did, so they strove to tie it up and take the lead. The score was 2-1, Philadelphia, but not for long. Mike Rupp surprised the crowd a second time by scoring his second goal in the game for the Rangers, making it tied at 2-2. Not too long after, Center, Brad Richards scored to put New York in the lead. Tensions rose as this game became a real nail biter for Philadelphia fans. Time was running out as players fought for the puck. Good news for Philadelphia eased the crowd when a penalty was called on Ranger defenseman, Ryan McDonagh for covering the puck in the crease with his glove. With nearly 20 seconds of play left in the game. Danny Briere stepped up to take the penalty shot for the Flyers, with hopes of tying up the game and going to overtime. Briere’s shot was saved by Lundqvist, the clock ran out, and the Rangers celebrated their away victory.
Going into the Winter Classic, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers were separated by only two points atop the Atlantic Division. Now, Rangers hold first place in the Eastern Conference, with a four-point lead over the Flyers in the Division. This is their third time defeating Philadelphia this season, and the fourth time the road team has won the Classics. Although this was a sad loss for Philadelphia, the fans continue to support the Flyers and show their enthusiasm for Schenn’s first goal.