New York Rangers conquer Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic
New York came into Philadelphia looking for the win and that is exactly what they came out as, winners, as the Rangers rallied in the third period to conquer the Flyers at the sold-out Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, on Monday, January 2, 2012.
The 2012 Bridgestone National Hockey League (NHL) Winter Classic game was far more exciting than expected, and even though it had huge expectations, both teams not only managed to live up to them, but exceeded as well.
The temperature was great, it was windy and the 43,000 plus fans were roaring with joy at the customised baseball park at every single move performed by both teams.
Philadelphia was having a problem before the game, deciding who would be playing in their net, but in the final moments, Sergei Bobrovsky was chosen to start the match and surprisingly stayed in till the end despite news about Ilya Bryzgalov coming in at some point or another.
After a scoreless first period, Brayden Schenn kicked off the scoring with his first of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season at the 12:26 mark of the second 20 minutes, while Claude Giroux came up to extend the lead, nearly two minutes later.
Mike Rupp put New York Rangers on the board with his second of the season only 30 seconds after Giroux, which suddenly put the crowd right back in their seats after seeing that the visiting team was focused to come back.
A day earlier, a special NHL documentary on the whole New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers rivalry was being played nationwide, which certainly built up the anticipation of the fans, making it one of the biggest Winter Classic’s to date.
"It was such a huge game", Rangers’ captain, Ryan Callahan, said. "The lead-up to it, HBO, 47,000 fans -- it feels really good to get that one. It really does".
New York’s veteran goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, turned out to be the star of the match when he blocked a number of crucial shots, which could have turned the tables for Philadelphia in their favour, including a penalty shot which was given when Rangers’ Ryan McDonagh was caught stopping the puck in the goalies' crease.
Lundqvist blocked 34 of 36 shots on his net throughout the contest, while his counterpart on the Philadelphia Flyers' side, Sergei Bobrovsky, faced 33, out of which he managed to divert 30.
"It was something special", Jagr said. "I wish everyone in the NHL can get a chance to play in that game".
Rupp potted his second of the night, 2:41 into the final period of regulation, which ultimately gave the Rangers the boost they needed to continue fighting, while Brad Richards made the game-winner nearly three minutes later on a quick snap shot for his 14th to finalise the scoring.
Seeing how his team managed to make a near impossible comeback, Rangers’ coach, John Tortorella, was certainly proud of his club.
"That's the way we have to play", Tortorella said. "You know, we have some talent, but we are not the most gifted team and we have developed an identity. I think the guys, they have developed this on their own as far as that identity, and that's the way we have to play”.
Now that the Winter Classic is done and over with, both teams can now focus on other things as the Rangers return home to host Florida Panthers on Thursday, while Philadelphia has the next against Chicago Blackhawks the same day.
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