Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner Lead Rangers To 5-2 Win Over Flyers

Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner scored two goals each, and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves to propel the New York Rangers to a 5-2 road victory against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

Kevin Hayes, Michael Grabner Lead Rangers To 5-2 Win Over Flyers

One night earlier, Lundqvist had given up four goals on just 14 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

“I felt good,” Lundqvist said. “I think we all felt like we had to respond, me included. We didn’t give up much [Tuesday] but I wasn’t able to come up with the big saves on their big opportunities there. … The way things happened [Tuesday], we wanted to come back with a really solid performance, and we got one.”

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said it wasn’t a difficult decision to start the Swedish goalkeeper again.

“He’s our best player,” Vigneault said. “And [Tuesday] not one of those goals he was responsible for. [It] was an easy call and he responded real well.”

Grabner added an assist, and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers (27-13-1).

New York’s victory total ties the Columbus Blue Jackets for the most in the NHL. They also improved to 7-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.

The Rangers led 1-0 entering the third period after Hayes’ first goal at 2:08 of the second, his first in 13 games. He also scored on a 2-on-1 at 14:15 of the third to give New York a 4-1 lead.

“Both of the [defenseman] went down,” Hayes said. “I usually pass but tonight I shot. … Got two opportunities and got lucky.”

All it took to put the game away was a stretch pass from Derek Stepan to Kreider, who raced past Michael Del Zotto and shot off Radko Gudas’ stick on Mason five minutes into the third frame to make it 2-0.

Jakub Voracek scored both goals for the Flyers (20-15-5), one of them on a power play, and Steve Mason made 23 saves.

The game marked Philadelphia’s fifth straight loss and seventh in eight games (1-5-2) since their 10-game winning streak ended.

They now hold a three-point lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second Wild Card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference, but have played three more games than the Maple Leafs. They also have a three-point advantage over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have played one game less than the Flyers.

“We know that we have to find a way to win some games here because we don’t want to chase the playoffs again,” Voracek said. “If you spend so much energy in March, April, late February to get into the playoffs it takes a lot out of you. … We did good in those 10 games but it’s past. You can’t worry about the past. You have to focus on the game ahead of us.”

Shayne Gostisbehere said the Flyers attempted to do too much. Mason agreed with this statement.

“When things aren’t going our way they sort of snowball and you try to do whatever you can to try and find ways to get out of it,” Mason said. “Sometimes you can almost try too hard, but we have to find a way here.”

The Rangers next visit the Blue Jackets on Saturday, when the Flyers host the Lightning.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JANUARY 04: Michael Grabner #40 of the New York Rangers skates against Boyd Gordon #27 of the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 4, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rangers defeated the Flyers 5-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)