PHILADELPHIA — So if Marc Staal had been scratched across the chin with a high stick that drew even a trickle of blood, the perp would have received a four-minute double minor.
But when Braydon Coburn merely broke Staal’s nose with a high stick at 19:26 of the first period, the Flyers’ defenseman was assessed a two-minute minor.
“It seemed a little odd to me, so I asked about it,” said Staal, who was gargantuan, blocking three shots, throwing three hits and adding an assist in 34:01 in the Rangers’ 3-2 shootout triumph over the Flyers yesterday. “I was told that was the rule.”
That’s not quite how Rule 60.3 reads, for in fact a high stick causing an injury (a broken nose qualifies) is grounds for a double minor, but the Rangers aren’t griping.
For the minor to Coburn, 1:06 after teammate Matt Carle was called for hooking Ryan Callahan, gave the Blueshirts a 54-second five-on-three. They capitalized when Bryan McCabe’s howitzer from 45 feet beat Sergei Bobrovsky over the left shoulder with seven-tenths of a second to go in the period to send his team into intermission at 1-1.
Thursday at the Coliseum, the Rangers had failed on two separate five-on-threes worth 1:28 late in the first while up 1-0 on the Islanders. The Blueshirts lost 6-2.
“I thought Caber really settled the power play down,” said Rangers coach John Tortorella, whose team had been 0-for-16 on the man advantage entering the match. “It wasn’t only that shot, but the way he distributed the puck. I thought he settled us down.”
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Tortorella went primarily with four defensemen and three lines over the final 35 minutes, limiting McCabe to 12:20 and partner Steve Eminger to 6:13 overall while Sean Avery got just 5:20 (one shift in the third) and linemates Erik Christensen got 9:07 and Wojtek Wolski got 9:17 overall. “With the back-to-back we’re going to have to get more people involved,” said Tortorella, whose team faces the Bruins tonight at the Garden.
The Rangers have gone 0-5 on the second night of back to backs since Jan. 8, when a victory in St. Louis increased that mark to 10-0. . . . The victory was the Rangers’ 24th on road (24-16-1), tying the franchise record established in 1993-94, when shootouts did not exist. The Blueshirts have seven shootout victories on the road. . . . Ruslan Fedotenko’s goal in the second that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead ended a 13-game drought.