Flyers 4, Rangers 2: Defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Kimmo Timonen scored and Steve Mason turned aside 38 shots as host Philadelphia kept its slim postseason aspirations alive by defeating New York for just the second time in 13 outings.
Brayden Schenn also tallied and Jakub Voracek scored on the empty net for his career-high 19th goal. Defenseman Brandon Manning had an assist for his first career point for the Flyers, who have won two straight and pulled within five points of the eighth-place Rangers.
Mats Zuccarello scored his first goal in nine games since returning to the league. Derek Stepan also tallied and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 18 saves for the Rangers, who fell three points behind the seventh-place Islanders while Winnipeg pulled even in points with a 4-3 shootout victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. New York holds the tiebreaker with a game in hand over the Jets.
Philadelphia opened the scoring midway into the first period after Manning's shot deflected off Zuccarello's stick and right to Schenn on the doorstep. Gustafsson found the net for the second straight game nearly eight minutes later after accepting a feed from Sean Couturier and wiring a shot from just above the right circle.
Zuccarello trimmed the deficit 2:54 into the second period after using Flyers rookie defenseman Oliver Lauridsen as a screen before beating Mason. Philadelphia regained its two-goal edge midway through the session when captain Claude Giroux cleanly won a faceoff in the offensive end to set up Timonen's blast.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Prior to his modest scoring surge, Gustafsson recorded one goal in 20 games in 2013 - and two in 53 during his career. ... Lundqvist yielded more than two goals for just the second time in his last 14 contests. ... New York D Michael Del Zotto exited the contest with 6:41 left in the third period after taking a puck in the mouth off a shot from Giroux. He did not return.
NY Rangers | Philadelphia | |
Derek Stepan 1 | Points | Kimmo Timonen 2 |
Derek Stepan 1 | Goals | Kimmo Timonen 1 |
Derick Brassard 1 | Assists | Claude Giroux 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Kimmo Timonen 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Henrik Lundqvist .857 | Save Percentage | Steve Mason .950 |
Henrik Lundqvist 18 | Saves | Steve Mason 38 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Rangers | 40 | 2 | 0-5 | 1-2 | 9 | 30 |
Philadelphia | 22 | 4 | 1-2 | 5-5 | 15 | 39 |