Flyers lose to Rangers in shootout in return from COVID-19 pause

PHILADELPHIA -- The New York Rangers won for the first time in five games, 3-2 in a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.

It was the Flyers' first game since a 7-4 win at the Washington Capitals on Feb. 7. They had four games postponed because of NHL COVID-19 protocols.
Colin Blackwell and Brendan Smith scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 20 saves for New York (5-7-3), which was 0-3-1 in its previous four games.
Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko scored in the shootout for the Rangers.
Panarin had an assist in his return after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury.
"I missed a few games and I feel better," Panarin said. "It was important for me to get a feel for the game early on and create offense. I have some things to work on, and we're going to continue working here."
Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia (8-3-3). Carter Hart made 31 saves.
Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers in the shootout, but James van Riemsdyk missed the net with his attempt in the top of the third round after Panarin scored in the bottom of the second.
Philadelphia was missing six players on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list, including top-six forwards Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Oskar Lindblom and Jakub Voracek. It was the first time the Flyers played a game with neither Giroux nor Voracek in the lineup since March 1, 2009.
"Five-on-5, I really thought that our game was the way it had to be to give ourselves a chance to win this game," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Obviously, we had some new bodies, but we went in there and no excuses, we needed to skate hard and make the high-percentage plays, and for the most part ... I really liked our overall game."
Farabee knocked in a loose puck in the crease to tie the game 2-2 with 1:14 remaining in the third period and Hart pulled for the extra attacker.

Smith scored from the slot to put the Rangers ahead 2-1 at 8:21 of the third. Panarin made a one-touch backhand pass through the slot off the rebound of a Ryan Strome shot.
Panarin led New York with eight shots on goal, 16 shot attempts and two takeaways in 22:07.
"He was dialed in tonight," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "I think he understood the magnitude of the situation we were in and how badly these two points were needed. He stepped up big time."
It was Smith's first goal since Dec. 6, 2019. He said it was the kind of goal Quinn has been emphasizing.
"We talked about getting pucks to the net and a lot of times when you put it to the net good things happen," Smith said. "I think we need to do more stopping in front of the net. That's what coach was preaching before the game, and it worked out for me."

Blackwell tied it 1-1 at 3:24 of the second period with a power-play goal when he tipped a Pavel Buchnevich shot from inside the blue line.
Hart made the save on Buchnevich on a penalty shot with 3:19 left in the second to keep the game tied.
Aube-Kubel gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into the first period when he poked in the rebound of a Michael Raffl shot.
The Flyers next play against the Boston Bruins in the Honda NHL Outdoors Sunday at Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Stateline, Nevada (2 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, SN1, TVAS).
"I saw some pictures on Twitter and stuff like that," Farabee said. "It looks like they have a great setup over there. We're excited to get out there. ... It's my first ever outdoor game, so I'm pretty pumped up and I know the rest of our guys are ready to go."
NOTES: Blackwell's goal ended an 0-for-16 drought on the power play for the Rangers that spanned six games. ... New York defenseman Adam Fox played a game-high 30:17, setting his NHL career high. ... Van Riemsdyk's point streak ended at seven games (four goals, nine assists). ... Giroux's streak of 328 consecutive games ended. It was the first time the Philadelphia captain missed a game since April 10, 2016. ... Flyers forward Maksim Sushko had one hit in 5:55 in his NHL debut.