Gagne nets hat trick, Flyers close out decade by embarrassing Rangers

by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine

Simon Gagne posted his first hat trick of the season as the Philadelphia Flyers dominated the New York Rangers, 6-0, at Madison Square Garden.

Michael Leighton stopped all 22 shots he faced for his first shutout of the year for the Flyers, who posted their fourth consecutive victory, all away from home, on their current six-game road trip.

Claude Giroux and Danny Briere each added a goal and one assist for Philadelphia, which plays Boston at Fenway Park in the 2010 Winter Classic on Friday.

Henrik Lundqvist allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period to take the loss for the Rangers, who have dropped two in a row after winning four straight. Chad Johnson subbed for the final 40 minutes in his first NHL action and yielded three scores on 20 shots.
Blair Betts knocked a loose puck home through a scramble in the crease just 54 seconds into the contest, and the Flyers went up 2-0 with 8:09 left in the first on Briere's nifty score in front. Just 1:37 later, it was 3-0 when Giroux found Gagne's rebound in front and stashed it home.

The remainder of the contest belonged to Gagne, the 10-year veteran and once-feared sniper.

Johnson was victimized on the first shot he faced, a Gagne wrister, 23 seconds into the second period, then Gagne added another goal during a 5-on-3 power play off a Briere pass for a 5-0 contest with 5:19 left in the period.

Gagne completed his natural hat trick and capped the scoring by redirecting a Giroux pass with 8 1/2 minutes left in the third period.

Notes:  Gagne's last trifecta came on November 5, 2005 against Atlanta. He has three career three-goal games...The Flyers had dropped the previous four meetings with the Rangers dating back to March 15...Leighton has four career shutouts, the first three coming with Chicago from 2002-04...Philadelphia's
last six-goal win over the Rangers came in an 8-2 thrashing on March 29, 1986...The Flyers also closed out the 1990's with a road win, a 3-2 overtime decision at Vancouver, then tied the Canucks on the road, 2-2, on December 31, 1989.