NEW YORK — One night after scoring a 5-1 win over the Islanders, the Flyers matched that and scored one more Wednesday to beat the Rangers, 6-4, at Madison Square Garden.
Are rookies pushing veterans out of a job and will an 18-year-old leave Philadelphia with a contract? Observations from the win:
1. Oskar Lindblom may have solidified his spot on the team after a dominating opening period with three points (two goals, assist) and a plus-3 rating. His first goal was a thing of beauty as his initial one-timer was denied by Henrik Lundqvist, but he kept with it and backhanded the rebounded into the net. Lindblom's confidence is light years from where it was this time last season.
2. I’m not sure you’ll see too much of it during the regular season, but it was enjoyable watching Mikhail Vorobyev and Claude Giroux together. In the first period, you could sense the chemistry in how they see the game that most players don’t. On a couple of occasions, they were able to cycle the puck in the Rangers' zone. Vorobyev has a real shot of making this team, but he needs to play with like-minded players, like Lindblom. The line of Lindblom, Corban Knight and Scott Laughton had nine points and was a plus-9 … in the first period.
3. One area of concern regarding Vorobyev has been his carelessness with his stick. Including the prospects game, Vorobyev has now been called for four stick infractions. I don’t think Vorobyev has that reputation, but sometimes it’s the result of adjusting to the way the game is now called at the NHL level.
4. No doubt about it Dale Weise is fighting for a job. Despite scoring on the power play, Weise coughed up the puck in the first period that led to Matt Beleskey’s goal and then had an even more glaring turnover as he held onto the puck way too long.
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5. The Flyers took advantage of Lundqvist, who had a lot of rust in his first game action. The Flyers' first two goals are ones Lundqvist handles rather easily, and Weise’s power-play goal is one he typically stops. The five goals the Flyers scored on Lundqvist is the most he’s allowed at MSG since the Flyers scored seven on Feb. 18, 2018.
6. Carter Hart replaced Brian Elliott after the first 20 minutes. Dave Hakstol didn’t address his goaltending plan during the morning skate so it will be interesting to see if that was his plan or if he made the decision after watching the first 20 minutes. At no point did Elliott appear bothered by his previous injuries. Hart did his best work on the penalty kill as he was under heavy fire. He surrendered one 5-on-3 goal that was a flukey one for the Rangers.
7. Yegor Zamula, the youngest player in training camp at 18 years old, had his first major gaffe when he whiffed on a backhand clearing attempt that led to Ryan Spooner’s goal. In camp on a tryout, Zamula has continued to get better and certainly hasn’t looked out of place. At 6-foot-3, 160 pounds, he’s extremely lean and GM Ron Hextall will have an interesting decision whether to extend him a contract.