Flyers 5, Rangers 2: Wayne Simmonds recorded his first career postseason hat trick and Steve Mason finished with 34 saves as host Philadelphia emphatically forced a pivotal Game 7 in its Eastern Conference first-round series.

Captain Claude Giroux collected an empty-net goal and two assists while defenseman Erik Gustafsson also tallied in his series debut for the Flyers, who chased Henrik Lundqvist (four goals, 23 shots) after two periods. Philadelphia travels to New York for the deciding contest on Wednesday, with the winner facing Metropolitan Division-champion Pittsburgh in the second round.

The Flyers held a comfortable 4-0 lead before Carl Hagelin ended Mason's bid for his first postseason shutout by scoring from the doorstep with 6:34 remaining in the third period. Mats Zuccarello also tallied and Cam Talbot stopped all five shots he faced in the session.

With Philadelphia on the power play, Simmonds drew first blood 7:08 into the first period with a spirited effort. The forward collected his own rebound off the skate of New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh in close before slapping the puck past Lundqvist.

The Flyers doubled the advantage 1:32 into the second period as Brayden Schenn stripped Rangers blue-liner Dan Girardi of the puck before inadvertently feeding an unmarked Simmonds on the doorstep. Gustafsson scored on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box with 5:43 left in the session and Simmonds capped his hat trick 62 seconds later by deflecting Jakub Voracek's centering feed past Lundqvist.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rangers have won all five of their Game 7s at Madison Square Garden. They also have claimed two of the three home meetings in the series and 10 of the last 11. ... Gustafsson replaced fellow D Hal Gill in the lineup after the 39-year-old struggled in the team's Game 5 loss. The two made their respective appearances in the series in place of D Nicklas Grossmann, who will miss 8-10 weeks after having surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his right ankle. ... New York went 0-for-5 on the power play and has failed on its last 20 opportunities.