Three Takeaways From Flyers Entertaining Win vs. Rangers
If you blinked, you probably missed a goal.
That's how wild things got at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, where the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers combined for nine goals in the third period alone in what felt less like an NHL game and more like a high-scoring, firewagon fever dream.
But when the dust settled, the Flyers emerged with an 8–5 win over a Rangers team still jockeying for playoff position, thanks to a first career hat trick from Tyson Foerster and some timely goaltending from Aleksei Kolosov in his first start in three months.
It's easy to look at the standings and assume there's nothing left to play for. The Flyers disagree. Loudly. They're not rolling over—they're pushing forward, playing with pride, freedom, and a whole lot of energy. As Foerster put it simply after the game: 'Winning is fun, so let's keep winning.'
Hats off, belt on. #PHIvsNYR | @IBX pic.twitter.com/cHT0FUP6Hs
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 10, 2025
1. Foerster's Hat Trick Caps a Successful Season
In one of the NHL's most iconic buildings, Tyson Foerster had a night he'll never forget. Three goals, 22 on the season, and a spot in the Flyers' history books.
'It was pretty cool,' Foerster said afterward. 'I know this building is awesome, and it was pretty cool to get a hat trick here, for sure.'
Have yourself a night, Tyson Foerster! He's got his first career hat trick!! 👏 Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/9WokJIWfuV
— NHL (@NHL) April 10, 2025
"Cool" is an understatement. Foerster became the first Flyer since Simon Gagne to record back-to-back 20-goal seasons to begin his career with the club—a feat that speaks not only to his finishing ability but also to his steady growth as a two-way contributor.
'[Gagne's] a Flyers legend, so it's pretty cool to be a part of that,' Foerster said with a smile. 'Coming in here every year, you just want to get better and better. So to do that, to just be a little bit better [than last year]... it's pretty good.'
His scoring touch was on full display Tuesday, but what's perhaps even more impressive is how he's added physicality and puck protection to his game. He's no longer just a shooter—he's someone who can be leaned on to drive a line and tilt the ice. And with four games to go, Foerster isn't coasting to the finish line. 'Hopefully I can continue to stay hot and do it again next year.'
2. Aleksei Kolosov Gets the Start—and the Win
The box score says Aleksei Kolosov gave up five goals. That's true. It was his first start in three months, and he was immediately thrown into the fire—a situatuin interim head coach Brad Shaw specifically said pregame they were trying to avoid putting Kolosov in against the Rangers.
"I'm hoping our guys can play smart in the first five, 10 minutes, minimize the shots and the quality of them so that he can sort of work his way into the game. Make that first period as least chaotic as possible."- Brad Shaw on Aleksei Kolosov making first start since Jan. 2
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) April 9, 2025
'I thought Koly was great in the first period,' said interim head coach Brad Shaw. 'I talked about limiting chances against him, and then we give him a penalty shot and two other point-blank breakaways! So it wasn't ideal… but I thought he held us in, kept it 1-0 after one period where we were kind of struggling and stuck in the mud a little bit.'
Sean Couturier echoed the praise: 'He made some big saves early to keep us in the game. For us to get a couple of goals late in the game to help and get that win, I think it's huge for him.'
The Flyers have been cautious with Kolosov's development since he came over from Belarus, but this outing showed exactly why there's excitement around the 22-year-old. He's composed, athletic, and unflappable—even in a game where pucks were flying in at every angle.
The crease in Philadelphia has seen a revolving door this season, but Kolosov gave the Flyers a steady hand when they needed it.
3. This Team Still Cares—A Lot
Let's get this out of the way: Tuesday night's game was not a clinic in defensive structure. Brad Shaw admitted as much. 'That was a crazy period. It just feels like—not quite utter chaos, but it feels like it's slipping out of your control if it hasn't already.'
And yet, through all the chaos, the Flyers never lost their sense of togetherness or belief. They didn't cave when the Rangers surged, and they kept their foot on the gas until the final buzzer.
'I thought they had some good pushes in the first two periods,' said Sean Couturier. 'I don't think we played our best game, but we stuck together and got some big goals late in the game.'
This group might be out of the playoff picture, but they're not going through the motions. There's pride in every shift, chemistry in every zone, and fire in every celebration. Jakob Pelletier, whose reactions to goals have quickly endeared fans, teammates, and coaches alike, summed it up perfectly: 'It was good! You know, it's nice. I thought we had a tough first period, but then we came back strong.'
There's also been a noticeable shift in the team's offensive mindset since Shaw took over behind the bench. Couturier pointed to a looseness that's brought out the best in players: 'It definitely feels like guys seem to be a little more loose. They aren't afraid to make plays… you've got to make sure you're accountable… but it's nice to see guys getting rewarded.'
With four games left, the Flyers are writing their own ending to this season—one that isn't defined by playoff berths, but by fight, fun, and a belief that something meaningful can still come from the final stretch.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Oilers fans react to 6-1 Game 3 loss
Edmonton Oilers fans who watched Game 3 downtown say they're disappointed but still hopeful the team can turn things around.


Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
Panthers and Oilers engage in all-out brawl as Florida takes control of Stanley Cup Final in Game 3 victory
While fighting is a regularity in the NHL, there's a low percentage of it happening in Stanley Cup Playoff games. Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, though, saw an all-out brawl in the Florida Panthers' lopsided victory over the Edmonton Oilers to take a 2-1 lead in the series. In their first home game of the best-of-seven series, the Panthers took full advantage, and the Oilers tried to get even in a physical way instead of on the scoreboard. The game was already 5-1 in favor of Florida when things were getting more chippy on the ice. It reached a different level when Edmonton forward Trent Federic started to pick on Sam Bennett to the point where he cross-checked him down to the ice, and Bennett retaliated with some punches as he got on top of Federic. That initial fight led every player on the ice to find a partner to duel with, and the referees simply let the brawl play itself out. The Oilers' Darnell Nurse and the Panthers' Jonah Gadjovich clutched each other's sweaters and were throwing haymakers, while Florida's A.J. Greer dueled with Edmonton's Mattias Ekholm. After the fights fizzled out, Nurse, Godjovich, Bennett, Federic, Greer and Ekholm were all called for game misconducts and sent off the ice for the remainder of the game. But, with nearly half of the third period still to play, the tension between these two teams vying for Lord Stanley's Cup didn't stop. It mainly came from the Oilers, as Evander Kane was sent off the ice for the night after slashing Carter Verhaeghe in the face while he was down on the ice. More penalties would be had as the clock kept ticking down, and at that point, both teams were just hoping no one would get hurt with much of this series left to play. Even at the final buzzer, Oilers star Corey Perry started jousting with multiple Panthers players, as fans started throwing debris onto the ice. In the end, the Panthers responded to all the over-physical play by the Oilers with a power-play goal to cap their 6-1 victory, as Evan Rodrigues hammered home a shot. Other than the fights, some tremendous offensive hockey was on display by Florida from the get-go, as Brad Marchand potted one past Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner just under one minute into the game. Marchand became the oldest player in NHL history to score in each of the first three Stanley Cup Finals games. But he isn't the only player to do so on his team in this series. Sam Bennett joined him in the second period after finding himself on a breakaway to the net thanks to Eetu Luostarinen intercepting an Edmonton pass at the blue line. Bennett went backhand forehand on Skinner, and buried his wrister top shelf to take a commanding 4-1 lead. Amerant Bank Arena went berserk as Bennett's goal led to an eruption of cheering on and off the ice for the Panthers. Verhaeghe also got into the goal column with a power-play goal assisted by Rodrigues and Nate Schmidt to go into the locker room up 2-0. Perry was able to get the Oilers a much-needed response with a power-play goal of his own at the beginning of the second period, but Florida's physicality, which was deemed legal by referees on the ice, ultimately led to Bennett's goal and Sam Reinhart's before that. Things came off the rails for Edmonton when Florida went back on the power play, and their top unit put together a beautiful display of passing ending with Aaron Ekblad's wide-open net to wrist home the team's fifth goal of the contest. It was truly a statement win for Florida, who have all types of momentum heading into Game 4 on Thursday night. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Goals galore in third instalment of Stanley Cup Final
Defending champions Florida capitalised on Edmonton's worst performance in weeks to thrash the Oilers in Game 3 for a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got their first goal in the series as the Panthers registered a 6-1 rout on Monday night. THE PANTHERS TAKE THE SERIES LEAD!! 😼 Catch Game 4 of the #StanleyCup Final between the @EdmontonOilers and @FlaPanthers Thursday, June 12 at 8p ET on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, @Sportsnet, and @TVASports! — NHL (@NHL) June 10, 2025 Marchand became the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a final and the first to open the scoring the next time out after notching an overtime winner. His 11 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than similarly ageless Corey Perry. Bennett added his NHL playoff-leading 14th goal, just the second at home, after making a big hit on Edmonton's Vasily Podkolzin that contributed to the turnover to spring him on a breakaway. Marchand and Bennett have combined to score eight of Florida's 13 goals in the series. But it was not just them this time. Verhaeghe buried a perfect shot into the net under the cross bar on the power play, Reinhart made up for missing the net on an earlier attempt, Aaron Ekblad scored to chase Stuart Skinner on the fifth goal on 23 shots and Evan Rodrigues added the exclamation point in the waning minutes. At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky earned the "Bobby! Bobby!" chants from a fired up South Florida crowd. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender known as "Bob" was on his game for the very few quality chances the disjointed Oilers mustered, making 32 saves. Perry - at 40 the oldest player in the series - beat Bobrovsky with some silky hands for a power-play goal, keeping up this final being a showcase of cagey veterans along with Marchand. Connor McDavid could not get his team on track, and Edmonton took 15 minors - led by Evander Kane's three plus a misconduct to add up to 85 penalty minutes - including a brawl that ensued with less than 10 minutes left. Trent Frederic and Darnell Nurse, who fought Jonah Gadjovich, got misconducts that knocked them out of a game with an outcome determined long before. After the final looked as evenly matched as can be with Games 1 and 2 each needing extra time, overtime and then double OT, Game 3 was a lopsided mismatch. The Oilers came unglued to the point Jake Walman resorted to squirting water on Panthers players on their bench from his spot on the visiting side. The teams have some extra time off before Game 4 on Thursday night, when the Panthers have the chance to take a 3-1 lead and move to the verge of going back to back.