(Orange and) Black Friday: Listless Flyers lose to Rangers

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor 

It was only nine days ago that Ron Hextall descended from his perch and delivered a brief, blistering post-game tirade after a passionless shutout loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

It was only two days ago that the players closed the doors and discussed things amongst themselves after a three-goal loss in Detroit.

Whatever passed between management and skaters and between each other, it still hasn't registered fully. And the clock is ticking while the club is about to go on their first extended road swing of the season.

Cam Talbot extended his personal scoreless streak against Philadelphia this season to 120 minutes thanks to a 26-save performance, Rick Nash tallied a deflating short-handed goal in the third period, and the New York Rangers opened a home-and-home series with a 3-0 decision over the Flyers on Friday afternoon.

"It feels pretty good obviously, and the win is the big thing for us because we need the two points and we need to start putting a lot of games together here, and hopefully start a bit of a streak here," said Talbot. "(Today) was another good stepping stone for me, and hopefully moving forward I can continue to help the team win whenever I am in there."

Martin St. Louis hit a milestone with a goal, Dan Boyle also hit the net and Derek Stepan assisted on all three markers for the Blueshirts. The Rangers have won three of their last four -- and all by blanking their opponent (Flyers twice, Canadiens once).

Steve Mason did all he could to keep the visitors at bay, but despite his 21 saves, the hosts dropped their third straight contest and seventh in their last eight.

It's been the same players repeating the same problems for virtually three whole seasons and two coaches, but Flyers head coach Craig Berube thinks the root of his team's issues are a different kind of internal matter.

"I don't think it was an effort problem, I think it was a frustration problem. I didn't like the penalties. We have to get tougher mentally. They have to believe in themselves and trust each other. That's where it starts, I think. You lose your composure and become frustrated when you stop playing like a team."

Less than a minute into the game's first power play, created when Dominic Moore goaded Zac Rinaldo into a roughing call inside the New York defensive zone, Boyle took a St. Louis dish and ripped a shot from the left point which beat Mason inside the far post at 6:10 of the first period.

Moore went to the box just over a minute later for interfering with/kneeing Claude Giroux in his offensive zone, and Mason had to be quick to deny a Carl Hagelin break after he beat Mark Streit to a loose puck at center ice. The hosts only managed one shot -- from Vinny Lecavalier -- and no other quality chances.

Hextall who appeared in the locker room at home for the first time all year, for his part, stayed on the prime talking point with his own postgame message.

"I think the first period was all right and it seems like we came apart after that," he said in a distinctly calmer manner. I think our frustration level is high and we have to find a way to flush that out. There are no short-term fixes here. I will say this, that it's a better team than how we're playing right now and this is a better team than the record's (8-11-3) showing.

One thing that's clear from the off-ice perspective, is that while the symptoms have been diagnosed and discussed among this group, there are either no answers to the nature of the disease, or nothing concrete that anyone wants to share at this juncture.

After the Flyers failed to click on the initial advantage of the second period, the Rangers picked up another goal. Philly had two chances to clear the zone and failed, leading to Chris Kreider dishing to the right wing for Stepan. His shot was turned away by Mason but St. Louis slipped behind coverage to tap in the rebound at 4:14.  The marker was St. Louis' 1,000th career point.

"To get a thousand, it's a great accomplishment," St. Louis said. "I'm not going to hide my feelings, I'm proud of that. To do it in a win, and to do it on a goal, I think it makes it even more special."

Mason slid across his crease to close the five-hole and deny a Jesper Fast one-timer late in the Flyers' third power play of the contest, but they couldn't find the touch at even strength either.

As always, Berube has a simple explanation for what ails his team when only three players have contributed their share offensively: "You want me to score for 'em? We're gonna keep working, that's what we're gonna keep doing. If we have to win games 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 that's what we have to do."

New York failed to mount much offense on a Jakub Voracek slashing minor just over 2 1/2 minutes into the third period, but when Kreider turned his raised stick into Sean Couturier's mouth at 4:33, it was a prime chance for the hosts to turn things around with a four minute advantage.

Instead, the Rangers tripled their lead. Caught with just Streit back, Stepan, Ryan McDonagh and Nash broke up ice 3-on-1, with the former dishing across to the latter for a dagger from the right circle 5 1/2 minutes in. 

These clubs meet again tomorrow afternoon in Manhattan, the first of five away from home and across the continent for Berube's flatlined roster.

"We just have to finish the job once we hit the ice tomorrow," St. Louis said. 

Notes: Talbot is the first Rangers goaltender to shut out the Flyers twice in one season since Steve Valiquette did so during the 2007-08 season ... His shutout streak against Philly now stands at 156 minutes, 27 seconds dating back to relief duty in Game 6 of last Spring's Eastern Conference quarterfinal series ... St. Louis became just the sixth undrafted player to reach 1,000 points in the NHL, after Wayne Gretzky, Paul Stastny, Dino Ciccarelli, Joe Mullen and Adam Oates ... Pierre-Edouard Bellemare skated only 7:36 in the contest, far and away the lowest total for any player on either team ... Though the Flyers' penalty killers, ranked 30th in the NHL, held the Rangers on five of six short-handed situations, the Rangers had seven shots to Philly's five on six power-play chances ... Jason Akeson cleared waivers and was assigned to Lehigh Valley of the AHL. 

Season ends as Flyers come up short in Game 7

Courtesy of the Associated Press

New York, NY -- For each step forward, there is a momentary footfall which serves notice that the road ahead is not always guaranteed.

After having missed the playoffs last season, and changed head coaches only three games into this one, then enduring a franchise-worst start only to surge into solid playoff footing, hopes were high that the opponent was a beatable one. Those hopes were finally dashed on Wednesday night, taken to the limit before fading away.

Henrik Lundqvist outdueled Steve Mason, Dan Carcillo and Benoit Pouliot scored in the second period and the New York Rangers outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers to post a 2-1 victory in the deciding Game 7 of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

"That’s the great thing about our team. Different guys have been different heroes all through the year or throughout this series, as you can see. Every night, every win we’ve had we’ve had different guys step up," said Rangers center Brad Richards. "That’s a good sign for our team." 

One night after being yanked after two periods in a 5-2 defeat, Lundqvist made 26 saves, only letting a Jason Akeson third-period shot slip by him en route to upping his all-time Game 7 record to 4-1. The 31-year-old Swede also became the third goaltender in league history to win four straight seventh games, after Cam Ward, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour.

"He's the backbone of our team for a reason," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. "He made some huge saves down the stretch. We know what he means to this team and he knows what he means. When he's on his game he's tough to beat. When they had some time in our zone he was the backbone back there. He relaxed everybody with some big saves."

Carcillo and Pouliot lit the lamp within an 8:40 span for the Rangers, who have had to endure a seven-game series in the first round in each of the last three seasons but won each time.

New York will take on the Metropolitan Division-champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round in a series beginning Friday night. The Blueshirts hadn't enjoyed home-ice advantage against their bitter rivals since 1982 when the Patrick Division Semifinals were a best-of-five, but used that edge when it counted the most to record their first series win against Philly since a five-game upset in the first round of the 1986 postseason. 

At times their only serviceable player on the ice, Mason made 31 saves for the Flyers, who had won each of their last three Game 7s dating back to 2008. The starter, who hadn't made an entry into the series until the latter stages of Game 3, admitted following the loss that what kept him sidelined for two weeks was, in fact, a concussion.

Nonetheless, he finished 2-2 with a goals-against average slightly over two, stopping 123-of-131 shots in five appearances.

"We didn't initiate enough and play with enough aggressiveness," Berube said, though what that is exactly after a two-year postseason layoff wasn't very apparent. "I think overall, we didn't play our best hockey."

The Flyers misfired on their initial power play early in the second period, and Carcillo exited the box after serving his club's bench minor to redirect a cross-ice dish from Mats Zuccarello which gave the Rangers a lead at 3:06.

For the feisty winger, who also scored a goal in the third period seconds after serving a minor penalty, it was his first goal in a terminal playoff contest since he scored the final goal for the Orange and Black in a 5-2 series-ending triumph over the Buffalo Sabres three years prior. 

Mason did the splits to deny Martin St. Louis at the right post off a 3-on-1 with 7 1/2 minutes elapsed, but he couldn't get across in time to stop Pouliot's one-timer off a Derick Brassard dish to give New York a two-goal edge with 8:14 to play in the second.


Philadelphia remained stuck in quicksand, and endured some misfortune when Claude Giroux had Lundqvist prone in his crease, but lifted a Jakub Voracek centering feed over the crossbar with four minutes before the second intermission.

Incredibly, Giroux ended up leading the club with six points (2G, 4A) despite being rendered invisible for much of the series, in his first playoff experience as not only the star player but as team captain. 

Mason was then left alone on two point-blank chances in the final minute of the second, making deft saves on both and keeping his club alive with 16 stops in the middle frame.

"We didn't play good enough in the second period to win that game," Voracek said. "It's too bad we couldn't get that one. They had chances and buried two goals in the second and we got the goal in the third and we had a good push but it was too late."

Akeson gave the visitors some life, following up his own miss from the right circle with a successful try inside the left post to bring his club within 2-1 at 4:32 of the third.

Lundqvist had trouble handling the puck from the start as the Flyers began to press more offensively. He needed to fend off a pair of crease rushes, and then stopped Michael Raffl from the left side midway through the period.

Mason was called to the bench for an extra attacker on two separate occasions in the final 1:33 of regulation, but Philadelphia mustered only one quality chance for the remainder.

"We knew they were going to push in the third and they came pretty hard, but the puck management was really good," said Lundqvist. "It's just exciting, that last minute is so intense and you're nervous but at the same time you just want to see what's going to happen next. The final second, that's probably the best feeling."

One bright spot for the losing franchise, they still own a 6-5 series record over the Rangers since their first meeting in the 1974 Stanley Cup Semifinals. 

The game opened on a heart-stopping note. Rick Nash, who went scoreless in the series, flipped a shot off the left post on the game's first shift. It ended up being a positive omen for the visitors, as Mason stopped 10 shots and Lundqvist 11 in the scoreless first period.

"He pretty much stood on his head out there. I thought we really had it. We just couldn't put the puck in the net in the end," Akeson lamented.

Notes: New York upped its Game 7 record to 7-5, and maintained its perfect 6-0 ledger at Madison Square Garden ... Philadelphia fell to 9-7 during the terminal contest in best-of-sevens and 3-4 on the road ... The Flyers suffered their first Game 7 setback since a 2-1 result at Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals on May 22, 2004 ... The Rangers haven't dropped a Game 7 since falling to the Washington Capitals in the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinals ... Wayne Simmonds finished the series leading the Flyers with four goals and 20 penalty minutes ... Carcillo had been a healthy scratch in favor of J.T. Miller in Games 5 and 6 ... In the pivotal second period, the Rangers outshot the Flyers by an 18-5 margin ... Nash has recorded just two goals in 23 postseason appearances for the Blue Jackets and Rangers ... The last 17 teams to score first in a Game 7 have won that game to advance.

Flyers come up short, Rangers win Game 5 to control series

New York, NY -- Brad Richards and Dominic Moore each netted second-period goals to help the New York Rangers take back the upper hand in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers via a 4-2 Game 5 triumph Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Moore added an assist on Brian Boyle's empty-net score in the final seconds that sealed the victory and put the Flyers on the brink of elimination when the series returns to Philadelphia for Tuesday's Game 6.

Marc Staal also had a goal and Henrik Lundqvist came up with 24 saves for New York, which bounced back from a 2-1 Game 4 loss in which Flyers netminder Steve Mason turned in a stellar 37-save effort.

"I thought we played a really good game, good energy," said Lundqvist. "Looking back at the game in Philly [on Friday], we did a lot of good things as well. The difference is today we scored a couple goals and that brings a lot of confidence to the group. It's easy to play patient and not overdo a lot of things."

Mason managed just 18 stops in this one, however, and Philadelphia wasn't able to maintain its momentum from Friday's win despite captain Claude Giroux and veteran Vincent Lecavalier recording their first goals of these playoffs.

"This series is definitely not over," Mason said. "We're looking forward to going home and having a big game there and bringing it back here for Game 7."

Though new to the organization, his words ring true. The last two times the Flyers faced this situation, they recovered to win the final two games and advance. Philly rebounded from an 0-3 deficit to Boston in 2010 and then went down 2-3 to Buffalo and won the following season. 

The Flyers had their fate sealed after falling behind 3-0 late in the second period while failing on their first four power-play opportunities, with Staal's left-circle wrister on a transition rush nearly 12 minutes into the contest getting between the glove and pad of a slow-reacting Mason to place the Orange and Black at an early deficit.

New York had an apparent power-play goal by Martin St. Louis disallowed early in the second period, as referees stopped the action before he poked in a loose puck that had trickled behind Mason. However, the Rangers had two other scores count later in the stanza to build a comfortable lead.

Carl Hagelin had a wraparound try blocked in front with around eight minutes elapsed in the middle session, but J.T. Miller slid the rebound across the crease for Richards to put into an open left side to make it a two-score game.

Moore extended the margin with 3:40 left in the frame, stealing a puck that went through the legs of Flyers defenseman Hal Gill and beating Mason in all alone for his second tally of the series.

Philadelphia did capitalize on its final man-advantage situation to close the gap, as Lecavalier's long one-timer on a 5-on-4 deflected off the Rangers' Kevin Klein and got through Lundqvist's pads just 32.6 seconds prior to the second intermission.

The Flyers pulled Mason early and inched closer with time winding down in regulation, with Giroux breaking out of his scoring slump by sending a drive from the left boards that made its way in through traffic with 1:29 to play.

Mason was pulled again shortly afterward, but the Flyers couldn't get another shot on Lundqvist before Moore and Boyle ended any comeback hopes. Moore beat Philadelphia blueliner Kimmo Timonen to a puck dumped behind the vacated net, then sent a backhand feed to Boyle for an easy tap-in with only 15 seconds remaining.

"It's frustrating," Flyers forward Scott Hartnell said of the loss. "You're always playing catch-up. You make it a lot harder on yourself. You're skating that much harder to get on pucks, to create turnovers, to get chances, instead of playing comfortable. It's a lot easier when you've got a lead."

Notes: Gill, who had played in just six games during the regular season, was inserted into the lineup with Nicklas Grossmann injuring his right knee in Game 4 ... Miller, New York's first-round pick in the 2011 draft, was making his playoff debut ... The Rangers have won six of their last nine postseason series that were tied at 2-2, while the Flyers are 8-17 all-time in the playoffs when dropping Game 5 ... Philadelphia has now lost in 10 of its last 11 visits to Madison Square Garden.

Flyers enter unfamiliar territory in playoff series with Rangers

Beginning Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers will open up their 2014 postseason at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.

That, in and of itself, isn't so rare precious. The clubs have met 10 times previously in the race for the Stanley Cup, although not since the 1997 Eastern Conference Finals, a five-game triumph for the Orange and Black which served as a torch passing from Mark Messier to Eric Lindros.

What makes this new territory for Craig Berube and his team, is that this year marks the first time since 1982 that the Blueshirts will enjoy home-ice advantage over their southern neighbors, and only the second time in 40 years that the Manhattanites have earned that luxury.

Not that it really mattered to the Flyers, who were tripped up three times prior by the Rangers despite the series kicking off in the loud confines of the Spectrum. Under Fred Shero in 1979, Herb Brooks in 1983 and Ted Sator in 1986, the Rangers pulled off stunning upsets, the first in a five-game Stanley Cup quarterfinal and the last two coming in the best-of-five Patrick Division semifinals.

Overall, Philadelphia has won six of its previous 10 playoff matchups with New York, including each of the last three dating back to the 1987 Patrick Division semis, in the first season the NHL extended the best-of-seven format to all four rounds.

To kick off this preview in earnest, here are brief recaps of every previous playoff series between the two storied franchises.

1974 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Standing in the way of their first trip to the final round, the New York Rangers presented a unique challenge to Fred Shero's club. The Flyers, who won the East Division and therefore held home-ice advantage against the third-place team in the East, dropped all three games at Madison Square Garden and had to win all four in the Spectrum to advance -- which they did. It came at great cost, as Barry Ashbee was forced to retire after taking a Dale Rolfe slapshot to the eye. Gary Dornhoefer scored the eventual series winner near the midway point of the third period in Game 7, and the Flyers held on after a Pete Stemkowski goal to reach the Finals against the Bruins.

This series marked the first and only time the clubs participated in a Game 7, and the first of only two postseason meetings where the series was decided in a terminal contest.

1979 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Subplots abounded. Fred Shero, who stepped down as Flyers head coach after seven years in the Summer of 1978, did a 180 turn and accepted the same post with the rival Rangers days later. Under Bob McCammon and Pat Quinn, the Orange and Black stumbled to a 40-25-15 record, with Shero's Blueshirts only four points behind. Bernie Parent was officially retired after a stick to the eye in a February home game against the Rangers caused permanent damage to his vision.

Ken Linseman won Game 1 at the Spectrum after only 44 seconds in overtime, but from there it was all New York. The Rangers outclassed and outscored the Flyers by a 26-5 count in winning the final four contests, dominating at even strength and seeing John Davidson outduel both rookie sensation Robbie Moore and long-time-backup-made-starter Wayne Stephenson.

1980 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Thanks to that record 35-game unbeaten streak, Quinn's Flyers finished atop the NHL with 116 points and gained home-ice advantage for all four rounds of the new playoff structure as Shero's Rangers finished 30 points distant. Revenge was clearly on Philadelphia's mind. Rookie goaltender Pete Peeters and a revamped defense overtook Davidson and the Rangers, limiting them to seven goals over the five-game series.

1982 Patrick Division Semifinals: Under yet another new playoff seeding procedure, the top four teams in each of four divisions qualified for the playoffs, in a 1-4, 2-3 structure with the first round best-of-five and the remaining three rounds best-of-seven. Quinn was fired and McCammon was re-hired, while Reggie Leach was released shortly before the end of the season and a patchwork Philly defense allowed a then-record 313 goals.

For the first time, the Rangers boasted home-ice advantage and didn't reap the rewards. Peeters made 35 saves and newly-acquired Darryl Sittler tallied twice in a series-opening 4-1 win at MSG. It was all downhill for the Cooperall-clad Flyers against Herb Brooks and his up-tempo playing style. In Game 2, little known Mikko Leinonen set a still-standing NHL record by picking up six assists in a 7-3 Blueshirts triumph. In Game 3, the hosts went up 3-0 after one period but fumbled it away into a 4-3 defeat thanks to Cam Connor's goal with 1:09 left in regulation, and in the deciding Game 4, a rally from 6-2 down in the third period fell short in a 7-5 season-ending loss.

1983 Patrick Division Semifinals: Brooks and the Rangers laid in the weeds during the regular season, finishing in fourth place at .500 and dropping four of the seven regular-season meetings with the Flyers, who shocked many by dethroning the three-time defending Cup champion Islanders and winning the division title with 49 victories and 106 points.

Following a mid-March 8-2 loss at the Garden, McCammon lamented that: "No one hit their Smurfs all night,” and the Rangers used that as prime bulletin-board material. From the drop of the puck, Brooks' club zoomed around the opposing defense, and eventually came up with a shocking three-game sweep by a score of 18-9, including a 9-3 debacle in Manhattan to complete the series. “Still the worst I’ve ever felt,” Bobby Clarke, the Flyers’ captain, said years later. "Nobody played worth a damn." The defeat was so humiliating and total that the Flyers couldn't even win the fights.

1985 Patrick Division Semifinals: An injury-riddled Rangers club dumped Brooks and finished a whopping 51 points behind the NHL-leading Flyers, playing for rookie head coach Mike Keenan. Despite Philadelphia winning all seven meetings in the regular season, its three-game sweep was closer than it should have been, with two one-goal games and a two-goal difference. Tim Kerr etched his name into the league record books with four straight scores in a span of 8:16 during the second period of the series-clinching 6-5 victory. It marked the first time since 1981 the club advanced beyond the opening round, en route to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since '80.

1986 Patrick Division Semifinals: More subplots. Former Flyers assistant Ted Sator left to take the head coaching slot with the Rangers. The Flyers won the division again, but the emotional and physical strains of having to fend off the Capitals and put the death of Pelle Lindbergh behind them was starting to show. New York lost six of seven regular-season games this time around, but no matter.

Sator's defensive system and the frenzied goaltending of John Vanbiesbrouck carried the day. The Flyers were reduced to gooning it up and pressuring the crease, and the Rangers refused to be rattled, taking advantage of their chances and winning twice in the Spectrum, including a 5-2 decision in Game 5 which saw Vanbiesbrouck make the save of his young career on a screaming slapper by Brad McCrimmon in the final minutes of a one-goal game. Vanbiesbrouck was controversially awarded the Vezina over Bob Froese, who clearly outperformed him in the regular season.

1987 Patrick Division Semifinals: Chaos and mayhem continues. Froese was dealt to the Rangers a week before Christmas for Kjell Samuelsson, and won three starts against his former team through the end of the season. Long-time Flyers hater Phil Esposito was installed as both head coach and GM on Broadway. Fiery rookie Ron Hextall faced his baptism by fire in the Garden with voluminous chants of his last name.

Hextall responded with the first two playoff shutouts of his career, both in New York, shook off taunting from the opposing bench in a testy Game 4 loss, while his teammates chased Vanbiesbrouck in routs during Game 2 (8-3) and the clinching Game 6 (5-0). Rick Tocchet came up with his biggest playoff performance to date, leading the way with five goals, while Kerr added three.

1995 Eastern Conference Semifinals: The first and only four-game sweep between the clubs saw the upstart Flyers, five years out of the playoff picture, knock off the defending Stanley Cup champions who upset top-seeded Quebec in the first round. Every game featured a different hero: Eric Desjardins with the OT winner early in Game 1, Kevin Haller with the OT winner early in Game 2, Kevin Dineen with two goals in Game 3 and Karl Dykhuis with his first two NHL playoff goals in Game 4.

Though the Rangers were clearly not the same team as their '94 model and without head coach Mike Keenan, it was sweeter than sweet to deny New York a chance to advance by preventing even one victory. Philly outscored the Rangers 18-9 in the series, allowing fewer goals by the opposition in each contest.

1997 Eastern Conference Finals: Not even the presence of five ex-Edmonton Oilers, including Messier and Wayne Gretzky, could help the Rangers overcome the Legion of Doom and three other solid lines. The Flyers' top line accounted for 20 points in a five-game set, while Rod Brind'Amour began to assert himself as a secondary scoring threat with four goals and two assists.

Terry Murray's club advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the seventh time in franchise history in front of a boisterous home crowd on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

The 2013-14 Season

Heading into Thursday's opener at the renovated World's Most Famous Arena, the New York Rangers have won eight straight regular-season games as the host against the Philadelphia Flyers, dating back to a 4-2 loss on home ice on February 20, 2011.

That's the longest winless/losing string for the Flyers since a 12-game run (0-11-1) from January 14, 1990 through February 3, 1993. One thing in Philly's favor, is a 10-10 all-time playoff record at MSG, which includes five straight road wins going back to Game 6 of the Patrick semis on April 16, 1987 and seven victories in their last eight tries at the arena situated above Penn Station.  

Neither Steve Mason nor Ray Emery have faced the Rangers previously in the postseason, and the same holds true for Henrik Lundqvist and the Flyers. Mason's one and only foray beyond the regular season was a four-game sweep against the Detroit Red Wings in his rookie season of 2009. Emery holds a 20-15 lifetime mark, 2.57 goals-against average and three whitewashes all-time, but was 2-3 for Anaheim three years ago in a six-game, first-round loss to Nashville.

Lundqvist sports a 30-37 record, 2.28 GAA and eight shutouts over seven appearances in the postseason. His backup for most of the year, Cam Talbot, has yet to appear in an NHL playoff contest

Brad Richards is far and away the leading playoff scorer for the Rangers, having picked up 78 points (28G, 50A) in 93 appearances for the Lightning, Stars and Rangers, which includes a Stanley Cup in 2004. Martin St. Louis places second, having compiled 68 points (33G, 35A) in 63 games, all for Tampa Bay -- including 10 goals and 10 assists three years ago as the Bolts advanced to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston.

No surprise here, but Claude Giroux tops the Flyers' list of playoff scoring, totaling 55 points (21G, 34A) in 50 games. Placing second, St. Louis' and Richards' former teammate Vinny Lecavalier, who picked up 52 points (24G, 28A) in 63 appearances for Tampa.

One Final Word 

For what it's worth, the following is a list of players on both teams who were alive (but not necessarily aware of) the last time the Rangers toppled the Flyers 28 years ago:

Adam Hall, Scott Hartnell, Jay Rosehill, Braydon Coburn, Hal Gill, Nicklas Grossmann, Mark Streit, Kimmo Timonen and Emery. Brian Boyle, Dan Carcillo, Dominic Moore, Rick Nash, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis, Raphael Diaz, Kevin Klein, Dan Girardi, Henrik Lundqvist.

Syvret on move again, this time to Rangers

With Michael Leighton off in Columbus, the other organizational yo-yo just had his string pulled yet again on Monday.

Defenseman Danny Syvret was shipped to the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Kris Newbury.

It's the third goodbye for the blueliner who scored his first NHL goal at the 2010 Winter Classic. He totaled six goals and 34 assists in 76 games for the Adirondack Phantoms last season.

Newbury, who can be classified as an "enforcer" at the AHL level, went for 20 goals and 62 points along with 127 penalty minutes in 70 games for the Connecticut Whale. The 31-year-old had one assist and nine PIM in six appearances for the Rangers.

For Syvret, it's another chance to try and break into the NHL level of a given organization. He only participated in 27 games over parts of three seasons here, while also failing to make headway with Edmonton, then Anaheim and St. Louis in between Flyers stints. 

Flyers can't break MSG skid, lose to Rangers

New York, NY -- Game one of this four-game gauntlet could have gone much better.

Despite a first-period lead thanks to power-play scores from Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek, Rick Nash registered the go-ahead and insurance tallies in the third period, as the New York Rangers shook off the absence of a key player to overcome the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-2, at Madison Square Garden.

Ryan Callahan added two early scores for the Rangers, who did not have the services of center Brad Richards after he was injured Sunday night on an illegal hit by Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta. Nonetheless, New York won its sixth straight home game against Philadelphia dating back more than two years.

"We found a way.  It was a ground-it-out type of game the first couple periods.  Nash steps up again in the third period, makes a couple big plays, and we found a way to win," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella.

Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves as the Blueshirts have taken three straight overall. With his 24th win over Philly, the Swedish goaler is two shy of the franchise record for most wins against their bitter rivals. John Vanbiesbrouck wound up on the positive side of the ledger 26 times from 1984-93.

The win did come at a cost, as defenseman Marc Staal had to be taken off the ice in the third period after bearing the brunt of a Kimmo Timonen shot which indirectly caromed off his face.

"That was scary. He was in a lot of pain. It was tough to focus after that," said Lundqvist.

Ilya Bryzgalov stopped just 16 pucks in defeat for the Flyers, who slipped below .500 (11-12-1) after seeing a two-game win streak snapped.

The Orange and Black face an even stiffer test on Thursday, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“All of our games are big but the next game is going to be the biggest game of the season,” said Philly captain Claude Giroux. “We need to find a way to motivate ourselves whoever the other team is and we have to find a way to play our best and keep getting better as a team.”

Following a scoreless but spirited middle 20 minutes, Nash put the hosts ahead with less than three minutes played, sliding the puck between the arm and body of Bryzgalov from an odd-man rush.

Nash  then doubled the  New York edge at 11:42, cutting from left to right and sliding a backhander home.

"That's my job, that's what I am trying to do," Nash said of his role as timely goal scorer. "It's fun for me to play in front of a sold out building in a hockey city that truly loves the Rangers.  I think it’s fun for our whole team to perform in front of these fans."

That score was set up by the second of two blundered changes, this one from the Flyers' defensive pair failing to properly switch assignments.

It didn't affect the offensive thrust, as Lundqvist  was peppered in the last minutes of the contest. He was forced to make a quick save on Danny Briere  in front with under two minutes left, and  Bryzgalov was  pulled for  an extra  skater seconds  later.

In a mystifying sequence which encapsulates the club's bad luck in this building, the visitors had their nemesis without a stick, yet missed several quality chances in the waning moments while buzzing around the Rangers' crease.

“It’s not like we were under siege,” Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. There weren’t a lot of chances both ways, but we made more mistakes than they did and that’s why they won the game.”

New York received the game's first power play and registered the first goal at the  90-second mark  as Derek  Stepan fed  Callahan and  the Rangers'  captain roofed a shot from the right side.

Philadelphia  gained the  second advantage  and evened  the score  as Simmonds stood  atop  the crease  for a  redirection of  a Giroux feed at 7:18. Voracek  followed  up  his  own  rebound on  another  Flyers  power  play  and it  was 2-1 with 2:03 left in the period.

Callahan  then moved around a sliding Luke Schenn on the left side, cut in and scored on the forehand with 41 seconds left.

“Giving up the goal in the last minute can’t happen,” Simmonds said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have [after that] and it obviously cost us the game.”

Notes: New  York  hasn't lost  to Philadelphia at  home since Feb.  20, 2011, and has taken  10 of the last 13 home matchups since March of 2009 against their long-time  rivals...Nash, who has  scored in a season-high three straight games, notched his first multi-goal effort with the Rangers...Callahan's two scores proved  to be  his first multi-score performance since a hat trick against the Flyers  in  a 5-2  road win  on Feb. 11,  2012...Giroux did not record a shot on goal...The Flyers lost defenseman Nicklas  Grossmann to  a  lower-body  injury following  the  first period...Prior to the game, the Flyers recalled forward  Eric  Wellwood from  Adirondack of  the AHL  and the Rangers recalled forward Micheal Haley from Connecticut.

Devils-Rangers may be one Mother of a series

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

Though the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have faced each other in the postseason five times previously, the Eastern Conference Finals matchup that looms ahead as the sixth marks just the second time that something other than mere bragging rights are on the line.

Back in 1994, both clubs found themselves on the cusp of a Stanley Cup Finals appearance and the resulting validation as legitimate winners.

The Devils, under the guidance of first-year head coach Jacques Lemaire, played second banana to the Blueshirts in the Atlantic Division all year. Their 47 wins, 106 points and 306 goals for were all franchise records but they had yet to get over the hump, having only once before reached the semifinals (in 1988 as a last-minute playoff club and heavy underdog to Boston despite two shocking series wins over the Islanders and Capitals).

The Rangers, under the brief regime of Mike Keenan, carried with them the pressure of having blown a charmed year two seasons ago and the ever-present ghosts of the franchise's last championship, the infamous 1940. New York claimed its third division title in five years, but that year's model looked to be a world-beater, thanks to a franchise-best 52 wins and 112 points.

What transpired was one of the all-timers.

Seven games. Three decided in double-overtime, including the terminal contest at Madison Square Garden. Martin Brodeur's introduction to playoff pressure. Bernie Nicholls' short-handed spree. Stephane Matteau's first 2-OT winner in Game 3. Mark Messier's Game 6 guarantee that came to fruition. Valeri Zelepukin playing "Beat the Clock" followed by MATTEAU! MATTTEAU! MATTEAU! in Game 7.

This year's battle for Hudson River supremacy has none of the sexy elements of that memorable series 18 years back. Even Jersey's head coach had a fairly even-handed answer for Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger:

"Anybody who coaches or plays wants to play your main rival in this situation. I don't think it gets any better than that," said Peter DeBoer. "That's the type of environment you want to play in, so I think we're very excited that we'll get an opportunity at the best team in the Eastern Conference. They had the most points. We're going to throw our best at them and see if it's good enough."

And Rangers head coach John Tortorella threw in the idea that his team has its collective eyes on a bigger goal than simply beating their rivals:

"We are still in the process of trying to become one of the elite teams. To be able to play two game sevens in the first two rounds, for a young group of guys it’s a tremendous experience. This is where your legacy is made, in playoffs," the Stanley Cup-winning boss said to SNY on Saturday night.

During the regular season, the Atlantic Division winners and top overall seed averaged roughly 2.75 goals for and 2.28 goals against. The fourth-place club -- only seven points back -- managed similar numbers offensively but yielded slightly more, just over 2.5 goals per game.

In the postseason, the Rangers have scored a whopping 29 times, and the Devils have come up with a relatively-profuse 36 in two fewer games. 

But it does have two things in common on the ground: the bad blood between neighbors, and Brodeur's still alive and kicking.

Lest we forget the all-out line brawl at the drop of the puck in mid-March:

Brodeur, now 40, is entering his fifth series against the club which occupies the renovated enclosure above Penn Station, but has won only once -- a shocking four-game sweep in the 2006 first round. It would be a sweet and honorable thing if, in his final NHL season, he crossed New York off his list of enemies vanquished one more time.

His counterpart is Henrik Lundqvist, a full decade younger. The Swede enjoyed the best season of his career, and, as a double-barrel Hart and Vezina finalist, wants nothing more than to keep going.

Brodeur outlasted his heroic one-time opponent in Mike Richter, so for the "King" to send Marty packing will be some razor-sharp poetic justice. This is Lundqvist's first trip past the second round in seven North American campaigns.

So, of course, the presumptive Hall-of-Famer laid it on thick in the Star-Ledger:  "He's a Vezina candidate. He's unbelievable. He's kind of the top goalie in the NHL right now. And I think I was in that position once. I played against Patrick (Roy) and Dominik Hasek. I played against all the guys during maybe the top years in their careers."

One thing decidedly not in New York's favor is this: since the expansion of the playoffs to best-of-seven for all four rounds in 1987, no team has ever advanced to the Finals after playing the maximum 14 games through the first two.

That formula spelled doom for the 1993 Maple Leafs and 2002 Colorado Avalanche, who share the NHL record for playing 21 postseason contests without reaching the title round.

One thing not on New Jersey's side is the fact that their five-game dispatch of the Philadelphia Flyers, ending last Tuesday, left it with six days off between rounds. The Orange and Black enjoyed five days off after beating Pittsburgh and the Devils appeared to be the fresher team throughout.

While the merits of rest vs. momentum in a short break will be debated endlessly, it works in the Rangers' favor to have a Game 7 at home followed by a Game 1 in the following series two days later on friendly ice.

“You play so hard for each other, nobody gets tired," Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh told the New York Times' Dave Caldwell after a 2-1 win over Washington in Game 7.

No matter what's written about past, present and future, ultimately it's up to the players to make it happen. The madness begins on 33rd and 8th tomorrow night.

Campbell addresses Avery-Simmonds incident; both players escape punishment

by Bob Herpen

Phanatic Hockey Editor

National Hockey League senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell on Tuesday issued a statement regarding an incident during a Monday preseason contest between Rangers forward Sean Avery and Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds.
 
Allegedly, anti-gay and racial slurs were exchanged in heated discussions between both players.
 
Campbell's statement said the league has looked into the allegations but has not been able to substantiate what was said and by whom. His statement said Simmonds "expressly" denied using the homophobic slur he's alleged to have said, and none of the on-ice officials close to the altercations heard what was said.
 
Campbell said the league is unable to take disciplinary action because of the lack of information, but reserves the right to revisit the issue.
 
"All players, coaches and officials in the National Hockey League deserve the respect of their peers, and have the absolute right to function in a work environment that is free from racially or sexually based innuendo or derision," the statement, issued Tuesday, said. "This is the National Hockey League's policy and it will remain so going forward.
 
"It also is important to emphasize that the National Hockey League holds, and will continue to hold, our players to higher standards with respect to their conduct both on and off the ice. While we recognize that the emotion involved in certain on-ice confrontations may lead to the use of highly charged and sometimes offensive language and commentary, certain lines cannot be crossed. Specifically, we have for many years emphasized to our clubs and players that commentary directed at the race or ethnicity of other participants in the game (or even non-participants), or that is otherwise socially or morally inappropriate or potentially hurtful -- including as it may relate to sexual orientation -- is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
 
Read the full release here.
 
Despite the fact that neither player will be penalized, Avery still appears to come out on the winning end because Simmonds refused to divulge what slur was directed towards him, along with the video evidence (whose offending word has been either bleeped or blanked out upon repeated televised replays) of Simmonds' rant towards the perennial pest.
 
The Flyers won the game by a 5-3 count. The clubs will have plenty of time to either whip up the rancor or tone down the discord, as they do not meet again until November 26 at Madison Square Garden.