PHILADELPHIA _ The post-Thanksgiving Day recipe for the Rangers? Resilience, resourcefulness and toughness.
That's what the Rangers were counting on to grab two points on Friday after Wednesday's blowout at home by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"We had the right mindset, we were pretty much ready to go a day ago," said J.T. Miller after Henrik Lundqvist rebounded from a shaky start with 40 saves _ 19 in the third period _ and the Rangers erased the memory by edging the Flyers 3-2 in a nationally-televised matinee on Friday.
Now 5-0-1 in games following a regulation loss, the Blueshirts scored twice in a spirited first period that featured their first two fights of the season, including a left-hand kayo of Brandon Manning by Chris Kreider, who had been challenged by the defenseman with two seconds to go in the period.
"We held our own," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We didn't back down, we know this is a hostile environment, it's always been. I want us to play whistle-to-whistle and play hard, but at the same time, I know that as a team we're going to stand up for one another. I didn't expect anything less."
The Flyers scored twice in the third period to trim a 3-0 lead _ one with goalie Steve Mason pulled _ but the Rangers survived. "Hank played great," Marc Staal said. "They were in our end a lot in the third, and those saves in tight, he stood tall and kept us in there for sure, it was nice to see."
Tempers rose in the first. Travis Konecky jumped Brandon Pirri after his shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Manning and the two were boxed for two-minute minors and five for fighting at 8:58. Konecky, deemed an instigator, also received a 10-minute misconduct.
Players appreciated the battles. "Pirs (Pirri) was physical and stood up for himself, and anytime you see Kreids do that, I love that," Miller said. "He's always engaged, but when he does stuff like that, it's great."
The Rangers (15-6-1) scored twice between the scraps. Miller knocked down Scott Laughton's pass attempt to Manning behind the Flyers' net, recovered, and found Derek Stepan in front at 13:16.
After Lundqvist, who allowed four goals on 17 shots in the 6-1 loss on Monday, made a point-blank save on Matt Read, the Rangers countered. Jimmy Vesey charged down the right side and feathered a pass to Matt Puempel, racing to the net, and Puempel beat Mason gloveside for a 2-0 lead at 14:40. Puempel had been claimed on waivers Monday from Ottawa.
By the end of the second, Lundqvist had stopped 21 shots. His best save came challenging Claude Giroux in front, whose tip struck him in the mask.
The key? "Awareness," Lundqvist said. "What I lacked in the second period against Pittsburgh. I really worked through it. I think the most important thing is not to overreact. There's definitely stretches where I feel like I'm not playing the way I should. A lot of its just focus, it's not technique. I rely on reading and making decisions and when it's a little off, you might not make that extra save."
At 12:33 of the second, Mark Streit's turnover, a clearing pass that went right to Nick Holden at the point, helped the Rangers to a 3-0 lead. Holden quickly angled a pass to Kevin Hayes alone in front and he tipped the puck over Mason for his 10th goal of the season.
In the third period, the Flyers capitalized on a bad change and lucky bounces. Pirri, coming off the bench, was slow to get to the play and Andrew MacDonald's backhander bounced off the skate of Chris VanDeVelde, whose crashed the crease at 1:34. Shayne Gostisbehere was credited with a goal at 17:56 when a shot deflected twice.
But the Rangers left for their northbound train satisfied that they were the team they had been for the first quarter of the season.
