The Philadelphia Flyers, who struggled most of March, knew they already had an uphill battle to regain their early season and get back into the playoffs.
The hill now looks even bigger.
The New York Rangers, who had been inconsistent for most of the season, woke up in a significant way on Wednesday night, beating the Flyers 9-0 in Madison Square Garden and humiliating a rival and their former coach, Alain Vigneault. .
“Could not defend and could not make a play,” Vigneault said. “I’m really ashamed.”
The Flyers essentially watched Mika Zibanejad equal an NHL record with six points, including three goals, in one period, while the Rangers rolled to their biggest win since 1986. And they did it without their full-time coaching staff behind the bench. due to COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s embarrassing to play on that ice tonight, like we played. We did not help our goalkeepers at all,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux said. ‘I mean, there are not many words to say. We know we need to wake up and the good thing is we have a game [Thursday]. So we have to answer [then]. “
Brian Elliott allowed five goals on 13 shots, and Carter Hart allowed another four on 16 shots as the Rangers scored seven only in the second period.
“Of course we talked about it a bit after the game, but everyone knows it’s not acceptable,” Giroux said, “and there has to be an answer.”
On Thursday, the Flyers take on the New York Islanders.
“It’s definitely good tonight,” Vigneault said. “We’ll come here to Long Island and get ready.”
Philadelphia has just six points in its nine games played this month. And the team that won three of four to open the season and had a four-game winning streak in January now finds itself three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Division.