Marc Staal made an impact on last night’s Rangers vs. Flyers game, scoring the game winning goal with 1:11 left in the 3rd period to give the Rangers a 3-2 win. The game was fast paced, and a little feisty at times. After Orr squared off against Jason Smith, Mike Richards hit Jaromir Jagr late in the first period after the whistle, leading to Chris Drury dropping the gloves and receiving 17 PIMs. Later on in the game, Smith took a run at Nigel Dawes, leading to Shannahan challenging him, although Smith got the better of him in the fight. Seconds later, Strudwick and Riley Cote fought in the Ranger’s defensive zone.

Other than Staal, Brandon Dubinski recorded a power play goal in the second period and Nigel Dawes recorded his own power play goal in the third. Lundqvist played the entire game, giving up the two goals on 28 shots.

Ryan Hollweg was again the center of attention. While trying to establish a physical game, he took a boarding penalty in the first, and a charging penalty in the third. While the boarding call was borderline, and most likely deserved, there was no reason for a charging penalty in the third. Hollweg has earned a reputation for playing a hard nosed game, and it led to him being scrutinized after every hit he throws.

Chemistry between Gomez and Shannahan was again strong, and Drury and Jagr looked well playing together. Over the next four days there will be three more cuts, all of them tough. I’ll be back when those happen.