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National Hockey League
Philadelphia 3, NY Rangers 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 23, 2018
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees: Jean Hebert, Dan O'Rourke
Linesmen: Matt MacPherson, Andrew Smith
Attendance: 17515

Nolan Patrick scored to start the fourth round of the shootout and give the visiting Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday night.

Patrick came in from the left side and then fired a wrist shot over the glove of Henrik Lundqvist for the game winner. Kevin Hayes had a chance to tie it but was wide on a backhand try.

Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds each scored goals for Philadelphia, which has won its last five meetings against the Rangers and improved to 2-0 in shootouts this season. Michal Neuvirth, making just his third start of the season, stopped 32 shots and all four shootout attempts to pick up his first victory this season for the Flyers.

Chris Kreider and Boo Nieves had goals for New York, which fell to 5-2 in shootouts this season. Lundqvist finished with 29 saves.

Kreider gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with his team-leading 17th goal. The play was set up by Hayes, who chipped the puck past Robert Hagg in the defensive zone, then picked it up near the boards in the neutral zone and spun around and hit Kreider cutting down the middle for a breakaway. The assist extended Hayes' consecutive points streak to seven games.

Raffl tied it 1:46 into the second period with his first goal in 21 games this season, finishing a two-on-one with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that went over the top of Lundqvist's glove and just under the crossbar.

Simmonds put the Flyers back ahead 2-1 five minutes into the third period with a power-play goal after the Rangers were called for too many men on the ice, tapping in a rebound of a Sean Couturier shot that clanged off the post.

But New York came back to tie it just 22 seconds later on Nieves' second career goal and first since Dec. 5, 2017. Lias Andersson stole the puck in the right corner and then passed to a wide-open Nieves in front of the net where he rifled a shot past Neuvirth's stick side.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   NY Rangers
Michael Raffl 1 Points Chris Kreider 1
Michael Raffl 1 Goals Chris Kreider 1
Sean Couturier 1 Assists Lias Andersson 1
Wayne Simmonds 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Michal Neuvirth .941 Save Percentage Henrik Lundqvist .935
Michal Neuvirth 32 Saves Henrik Lundqvist 29
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 31 3 1-2 2-2 4 34
NY Rangers 34 2 0-2 1-2 4 28
Upcoming Games
  • NY Rangers will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Rangers have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .474 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Flyers have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .500 after a loss.