For most of the game, the Rangers had the lead thanks to Jaromir Jagr’s scoring prowess and Henrik Lundqvist’s brilliance in goal. So, when Martin Rucinsky scored to give New York a two-goal lead with just over eleven minutes to play, it seemed like the game was in the bag. Maybe that’s what the Rangers felt, because Philadelphia stormed back and eventually won the game 3-2 in overtime.
Joni Pitkanen got the Flyers on the board when he fired a slap shot that deflected off of Steve Ruccin’s foot. The Rangers looked like they would hang on after killing off a power play, but Mike Richards made a great move to knot the game at 2. Pitkanen struck again and scored the winning goal 90 seconds into overtime giving Philadelphia the win and putting them four points ahead of New York.
After the game, Tom Renney blamed himself for what appeared to be a slow line change on the winning goal. Renney may take the blame for that play, but the whole team needs to figure out how they let Philadelphia come back and win such an important contest.
Photo by AP/Julie Jacobson via ESPN
