Early in the second period Sunday, the Rangers thought they had taken a commanding 2-0 lead over the Flyers. Yet an apparent goal by Martin St. Louis was waved off due to a quick whistle from referee Justin St. Pierre, much to the chagrin of the Rangers and the Garden crowd.
Luckily, the Rangers went on to win 4-2, and take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven first-round playoff matchup, with a chance to eliminate the Flyers in Game 6 on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.
“I was very disappointed when I heard the whistle,” said St. Louis, who had another strong game in getting a team-high four shots in 20:01 of ice time. “It’s such a fast game, obviously at the time, I’m upset at the call, but it is what it is.”
The play happened while the Blueshirts were at the tail end of a man-advantage. John Moore took a point shot that snuck behind goalie Steve Mason, but not over the goal line. With St. Pierre behind the net, it could have been assumed he was in perfect position to see the puck clearly on the ice and not under Mason, but he blew the whistle to stop play.
“Stuff like that is going to happen and you just have to keep playing,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “That’s what we were saying on the bench, you just have to keep playing, and that’s what we did.”
The Flyers were forced to play slow-footed veteran defenseman Hal Gill, and it cost them.
The 39-year-old Gill, who had played just six games all season, took the place of top-four blue liner Nicklas Grossman, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 4. With just under four minutes left in the second period and the Rangers up 2-0, Gill couldn’t handle a pass at his feet and made an atrocious turnover to Dominic Moore, who converted the ensuing breakaway for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
“I tried to kick it up and I kicked it back,” Gill said. “It’s one of those things where I have to make that play and I didn’t. When you’re in the playoffs, you make a little mistake and it costs you. That’s what I like about it and sometimes that’s what sucks about it.”
The Rangers’ power play went 0-for-3, and is now 0-for-11 in the past three games. The Rangers haven’t converted on the man-advantage in 15 attempts, since Benoit Pouliot’s goal in Game 2.