New York Rangers (34-13-5) at Philadelphia Flyers (31-16-7), 1 p.m. (ET)
Sports Network | February 11, 2012
(Sports Network) - The Rangers own a four-point edge over the Flyers for first place in the Atlantic Division largely because of their ability to stymie Philadelphia's offense this year.
Set to meet for the fifth time this season, New York looks to extend its six- game winning streak over Philly this afternoon and pad its lead atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The Rangers have outscored the Flyers 24-8 over the past six encounters, shutting them out twice. That span, of course, includes a come-from-behind 3-2 victory in Philadelphia at the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 and New York came away with a 5-2 win when the clubs met at Madison Square Garden last Sunday. The Rangers put the game away by scoring the game's final three goals in the third period.
New York has won its last two trips to Philadelphia including the outdoor contest after losing four in a row there.
The most recent win over the Flyers is part of a current 5-1-1 stretch for the Rangers, who lead the division and the East with 73 points. New York had a five-game point streak halted with a controversial 1-0 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday, but rebounded to down Tampa Bay 4-3 in overtime on Thursday.
Brad Richards scored 2:37 into OT, converting the only shot taken by either club in the extra session. Richards' clutch goal came versus a Lightning club he won a Stanley Cup championship with back in 2004. New York outshot Tampa Bay 31-17 in the game.
"Overtime winners are special no matter what," said Richards, who played for the Lightning from 2000-08. "And getting one against your former team ... put all those things together and it's a lot of fun."
Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle also scored and backup Martin Biron ended with 14 saves for the Rangers, who trail the Red Wings by three points for the most in the overall NHL standings.
New York will be without forward Ruslan Fedotenko after he took a shoulder to the head from Tampa Bay's Dominic Moore on Thursday. Fedotenko had to be helped off the ice and will not travel to Philadelphia. Head coach John Tortorella refused to comment on the hit after the game, though he did say his players should have been upset over the hit. Moore was given a $2.500 fine by the NHL for the hit, but was not suspended.
New York can expect another physical game today from Philadelphia, which snapped a season-high three-game slide with a 4-3 win over visiting Toronto on Thursday. The Flyers rebounded after a shootout loss to the Islanders on Tuesday in which both teams were shut out through overtime.
Philly's top line of Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr made sure that wouldn't happen again. Giroux potted his 21st goal of the year and his 60th point -- good for second-most in the league -- and Hartnell had a goal and an assist. He notched two-thirds of his "Gordie Howe" hat trick on his goal, fighting Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf right after scoring.
"I was kind of going behind the net and I don't know if he pushed me or I caught an edge or what happened, but I kind of went awkward into the boards and my neck was kind of in an awkward position. I thought it was somewhat of a cheap play. Then I got a lucky bounce and whacked it out of the air and into the net, so I went right after him," said Hartnell.
Jagr had an assist and Max Talbot and Brayden Schenn also lit the lamp. With Ilya Bryzgalov out with the flu, Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves in the win.
Bryzgalov's status for this game is uncertain and the Flyers did recall Jason Bacashihua from the American Hockey League to serve as the backup versus the Maple Leafs.
