#4 Philadelphia Flyers (37-20-10, 84 pts) at #8 New York Rangers (35-26-8, 79 pts)
Madison Square Garden - 12:30 PM EST - Manhattan, NY
TV: NBC HD, TSN
Radio: 610 WIP, XM 205
This is the open game thread.
Behind Enemy Lines: Rangerland, NY Rangers Blog
Let's make it two, shall we?
A Flyers win today would be really big for a couple of reasons. First off, a regulation loss for New York would push them back out of playoff position, so that's always nice. But most importantly, a Philly win means that they're six points ahead of fifth-place Montreal and potentialy six points ahead of sixth-place Pittsburgh, who play Boston at home today.
Today is not only the second leg of a crucial home-and-home, but it is also the first of a four game road trip. They'll visit Detroit on Tuesday, Buffalo on Friday, and Pittsburgh on Sunday. It doesn't get easy, so a win in the first game of the trip can go a long way to helping out.
We know about these Rangers from yesterday, which makes writing a game preview a little difficult. But stats are always fun. Claude Giroux has five points in two games against the Rangers. Today will be Jeff Carter's 200th NHL game. Simon Gagne is riding a six game point streak. So is Mike Richards. The Flyers are 10-3-1 in the first game of a back-to-back and 7-3-3 in the second game. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 and still dig up excuses to celebrate it this season.
Between the Pipes: Henrik Lundqvist will go again for the Rangers today. Biron started four straight, so the nod will go to Antero Niittymaki for the Flyers today.
No questions today. F*** New York. Go Flyers.