Breaking Down What New York Rangers Did Right in Game 3 vs. Philadelphia Flyers

After a lackluster effort in Game 2, the New York Rangers needed to come out with some life in Game 3, and that is exactly what happened during Tuesday night's 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

It was an all-hands-on-deck effort and each player on the Blueshirts' roster pulled their weight throughout.

Although the Rangers took some stupid penalties, they ultimately were able to keep the game going in their favor and never trailed against the Flyers. The Blueshirts now have a 2-1 series lead.

Here is what the team did right to walk out of Philadelphia with a victory in Game 3.

Penalty Kill Was Perfect

Len Redkoles/Getty Images

The Flyers would go on the power play a total of five times during Game 3, and each time they were thwarted by the Blueshirts' penalty-killing unit. The Blueshirts did a great job of clearing the zone, getting to loose pucks off rebounds and blocking a ton of shots.

In total, the Rangers threw themselves in front of 28 shots, which was a huge difference-maker in this game.

The team's willingness to throw caution to the wind when blocking a blast from Claude Giroux or Vincent Lecavalier helped shut down the Flyers offense and was one of the Blueshirts' biggest strengths in Game 3.

Offense Came from Unexpected Sources

The goals scored by Derek Stepan and Martin St. Louis didn't raise any eyebrows from the fanbase, but Twitter was jumping when Dan Girardi and Dan Carcillo found the back of the net.

Girardi is known for his defensive abilities and Carcillo is known for his truculence and pugnacity.

Carcillo was in the lineup for Jesper Fast on Tuesday night and many expected his lone contributions to come in the form of dropping the gloves. Instead, Carcillo used his speed and saucy mitts to his advantage, scoring the Blueshirts' fourth goal of the game off a nice feed from center Brian Boyle.

Girardi's goal was also huge, as it gave the Rangers a two-goal cushion in the second period.

It is always nice to have scoring come from unexpected places, and as St. Louis said on the telecast following Game 1's victory, "There's going to be a different hero every night."

Claude Giroux Was Silenced...Again!

Chris Szagola

Giroux has been pondering his thoughts lately.

Claude Giroux finally registered a shot against the New York Rangers in Game 3. Giroux broke the streak that Flyers beat writer Frank Seravalli reports stretches back all the way to January:

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@DNFlyers:

That was Claude Giroux's first shot on goal against NYR in 115 shifts. That's 311:19 (game time), 94 minutes (ice time) since Jan. 12.

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Bleacher Report's Dave Lozo has more on the M.I.A. star and how badly he's played thus far:

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A secondary assist on Jakub Voracek's goal in Game 2 is Giroux's only five-on-five point of the series. Giroux has been a negative Corsi-wise in all five-on-five situations, as his shot differential through three games stands at -8, this despite him finishing +8 in that category Tuesday.

Giroux and the Flyers played their best game of the series in Game 3 and were submarined by a couple bad goals allowed by goaltender Ray Emery. But if Giroux doesn't score, the Flyers chances of winning this series are almost entirely out the window.

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Thus far, the Rangers have done a great job of defending Giroux, and it hasn't mattered what pairing is out there against him.

As Lozo mentioned, if Giroux continues to remain invisible, the Flyers are headed for the golf course.

Henrik Lundqvist Bounced Back in a Huge Way

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

For the first 40 minutes of Game 3, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was under siege. He stopped pucks left and right, and did a great job of keeping the Rangers in the game. The calming influence of Lundqvist prevented the game from spiraling out of control and led to a Rangers victory.

Lundqvist was money in Game 3, and here is a breakdown of his saves.

Period	Shots Faced	Saves Made	Goals Allowed
1	12	11	1
2	13	13	0
3	7	7	0
Totals	32	31	1

NHL.com

Situation	Shots Faced	Saves Made	Goals Allowed
Even Strength	28	27	1
Power Play	3	3	0
Shorthanded	1	1	0
Totals	32	31	1

Lundqvist has been the Blueshirts' best player for many years, and he really turned it on in Game 3.