The Rangers weren’t exactly set up for success prior to their Wednesday game against the Flyers. Their entire coaching staff was forced away from the game as a result of COVID restrictions, and replacing them was a group from the team’s AHL affiliate that had a combined zero games of NHL head coaching experience.
Yet even with incredible disadvantage, New York had no problem putting an absolute beatdown on Philadelphia — one that included seven goals in the second period of the game. By the time the third period began, the Flyers faced a steep 9-0 mountain to climb. As one might expect, that set a bit of team history.
It wasn’t just team history though, as Mika Zibanejad turned in one of the all-time great single-game performances in NHL history, with just the second six-point period ever recorded in the NHL, tallying three goals and three assists in the second frame. Zibanejad had scored just three goals in 27 games played this season coming into this matchup against Philadelphia and his huge night also resulted in this amazing nugget:
After the game, which the Rangers won 9-0, Flyers coach Alain Vigneault — who coached the Rangers from 2013 to 2018 — was succinct in his analysis.
This drubbing is just two days removed from the last time these two teams faced off, though that contest was understandably a closer affair than this one. That game on Monday featured a 5-4 victory in favor of the Flyers and required a goal in overtime to secure that win.