The Flyers gave away a two-goal lead as the Rangers rode three unanswered goals to a 3-2 win in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic in front of 46,967 fans at the home of the Phillies Citizens Bank Park on Monday.
After a scoreless first period, a flurry of goals (as actual snow flurries began to fall) started with Brayden Schenn putting the Flyers on the board with his first NHL goal. Less than two minutes later Claude Giroux put the Orange and Black up 2-0 with his 18th goal of the season.
But it wasn’t enough. Rangers C Mike Rupp scored just 30 seconds later and then tied the game in the third period. And G Henrik Lundqvist turned away 33 of 35 shots to lead New York.
Lundqvist’s biggest stop came with just 20 seconds remaining when Flyers alternate captain Danny Briere was stopped on a penalty shot that could have tied the game.
"All I was thinking is this game is going to overtime," Briere said. "Unfortunately, he made the save. I tried to surprise him with a quick shot, but he made the save.
"He's one of the best in shootouts."
There would be no shootout as the Flyers failed to tie the score. The win put the Eastern Conference-leading Rangers four points ahead of Philly in the Atlantic Division.
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Though it was only a regular season game, the atmosphere in Citizens Bank Park was electric. Throughout much of the game “Let’s Go Flyers” and “Rangers… well you know what” chants were met with “Let’s Go Rangers” chants by the pockets of New York fans scattered in groves around the ballpark.
The event, though, had a Philly feel. Patti LaBelle gave a rousing rendition of the National Anthem; Lauren Hart performed "God Bless America" and fellow Philly natives The Roots played during introductions and intermissions.
The NHL surrounded the rink with Christmas trees, fake snow and even trash-can fires that gave the field a very Rocky feel. But there was nothing artificial in the elements with snow flurries late in the second period and temperatures that dipped into the 30s, forcing most fans -- there were a few die-hards, who opted for body paint rather shirts -- to bundle up.
But in the end the day belonged to New York thanks to Brad Richards deciding third-period goal that beat Sergei Bobrovsky. Bob made 30 stops on 33 shots in place of Ilya Bryzgalov but came up short in the third.
The Flyers will look to return to winning when they face the Blackhawks Thursday night.
