The Philadelphia Flyers, fighting for most of March, knew they already had an uphill battle to regain their early season form and return to the playoff position.
The hill looks even bigger now.
The New York Rangers, inconsistent for most of the season, woke up in an important way on Wednesday night, defeating the Flyers 9-0 at Madison Square Garden, humiliating a rival and his former coach, Alain Vigneault.
“I couldn’t defend and I couldn’t make a move,” said Vigneault. “I’m really ashamed.”
The Flyers basically watched while Mika Zibanejad tied an NHL record with six points, including three goals, in one period, while Rangers reached their biggest margin of victory since 1986. And they did it without their full-time technical team behind the bench. reservations due to the COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s embarrassing to be playing on that ice tonight, the way we play. We don’t help our goalkeepers at all,” said Flyers captain Claude Giroux. “I mean, there are not many words to say. We know that we have to wake up and the good thing is that we have a game [Thursday]. So, we need to answer [then]. “
Brian Elliott conceded five goals in 13 shots, and Carter Hart conceded four more in 16 shots, as Rangers scored seven in the second period alone.
“Obviously, we talked about it a little after the game, but everyone knows that it is not acceptable,” said Giroux, “and there needs to be an answer.”
On Thursday, the Flyers face the New York Islanders.
“We certainly weren’t doing well tonight,” said Vigneault. “Let’s get to Long Island here and get ready.”
Philadelphia has just six points from nine games played this month. And the team that won three out of four to open the season, and had a four-game winning streak in January, is now three points behind Boston Bruins for the final playoff position in the Eastern Division.