The Philadelphia Flyers look like a new team since they parted company with former head coach John Tortorella in late March. They have won four of their five games since Tortorella’s dismissal, and their last game was an 8-5 triumph over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Flyers were led by youngster Tyson Foerster, who scored the first hat trick of his career.
The Flyers rallied for six goals in the final period to punish the Rangers as they try to remain in playoff contention. The team is hanging on by the thinnest of margins at this point, but it would take the NHL’s version of a miracle to surpass four teams including the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs sit in the second Wild Card spot with 87 points and the Rangers have just 79 points with four games remaining.
None of that matters to the Flyers, who have finally demonstrated the ability to put the puck in the net after struggling to score all season. The 23-year-old Foerster was thrilled to score three goals on the Rangers’ home ice. “This building is awesome, and it was pretty cool to get a hat trick in it,” Foerster said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
Foerster has scored 6 goals in his last 5 games and has reached the 20-goal mark with his three-goal effort.
Rangers facing elimination with next loss
The Rangers will find themselves officially eliminated from any chance of making the playoffs if they fail to win Thursday night when they face the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
Meanwhile, the Flyers will try to finish the season with multiple victories against the New York Islanders (Saturday), Ottawa Senators (Sunday), Columbus Blue Jackets (Tuesday) and Ottawa Senators (Thursday, April 17).
It seems clear that Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw will count on Foerster to lead the Flyers’ other young players. “Twenty goals is a nice threshold and there’s not many guys that do it,” Shaw said. “Never mind his age, he hasn’t been given a ton of offensive responsibility either, so for him to do it sort of in a checking-line role is probably even more impressive. He’s a real diligent young man, a real pro, mature beyond his years and that shows in his game. Couldn’t be happier for him to get that hat trick tonight.”
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