Rangers 4, Flyers 1: Brad Richards scored the go-ahead power-play goal midway into the third period and set up two other tallies as New York maintained its home dominance of Philadelphia by winning Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Derek Stepan scored with the man advantage while Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin also tallied as the Rangers defeated the Flyers for the ninth straight time at Madison Square Garden. Martin St. Louis notched a pair of assists and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 14 saves for New York, which hosts Game 2 on Sunday afternoon.

Defenseman Andrew MacDonald scored two days after signing a six-year, $30 million contract extension as Philadelphia was limited to 15 total shots - including one in the third period. Ray Emery turned aside 32 shots for the Flyers, who haven't won at Madison Square Garden since posting a 4-2 triumph on Feb. 20, 2011.

The Rangers made Philadelphia pay after rookie Jason Akeson was whistled for a four-minute high-sticking penalty on Hagelin at 7:35 of the third. Emery was able to deny St. Louis from in close, but Richards beat the netminder with a blast from deep in the right faceoff circle at 8:22. Stepan doubled the advantage 47 seconds later, accepting Richards' crisp diagonal pass before wiring a sharp-angle shot into the gaping net.

Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen's bid to halve the deficit rang off the post with 4 1/2 minutes to play, and New York put away the game on the ensuing rush up the ice. Richards' initial shot was denied by Emery, but Hagelin cleaned up the rebound with 4:08 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New York has outscored Philadelphia by a 35-10 margin in the last nine games at Madison Square Garden. ... Rangers D Ryan McDonagh returned to the ice for the first time since injuring his shoulder on April 1. ... Emery was playing in place of G Steve Mason, who suffered an upper-body injury last weekend against Pittsburgh. ... Flyers captain Claude Giroux was held without a shot after finishing third in the league in points. ... The teams were meeting for the 11th time in the postseason - and first since the Flyers defeated the Rangers in five games during the 1997 Eastern Conference final. ... New York Mets RHP Matt Harvey and LHP Jon Niese were in attendance.