Rangers—Flyers: New York Clinches Fourth Consecutive Playoff Berth

On Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers scored two goals in the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers and Henrik Lundqvist made them stand up. This win yielded the Rangers fourth playoff appearance since the lockout of the '04-'05 season.

The Ranger's first goal was less than a minute in, in a situation where Flyers goalie Martin Biron thought he had the puck frozen, but had the puck shoved in, with the Referee on top of the play. It was reviewed, but the call on the ice stood.

The Rangers then took a 2-0 lead later in the first on a shot from the point by Derek Morris, which was credited to Ryan Callahan with a deflection on the shot.

The Flyer's only goal came on a power play in the second period on which Rangers defense-man Paul Mara was hit with a slap shot and injured, and Danny Briere took advantage of the virtual five on three by putting the puck into a wide open net.

In the third period, Henrik Lundqvist kept the score 2-1 with some pretty remarkable saves, through steady pressure from the Philadelphia offense.

The Rangers are currently tied with the Montreal Canadiens in points for the final playoff spot. However, the Rangers currently hold the tiebreaker having 42 wins to the Canadiens 41. The Rangers will remain in seventh place unless the Canadiens manage to get more points out of their last game on Saturday against the Penguins than the Rangers get against the Flyers on Sunday.

If the Rangers finish in seventh they will play the Washington Capitals who they are 1-2-1 against on the season, but haven't played since John Tortorella took over as coach.

If they finish in eighth, they'll play the Boston Bruins, who they are 2-2 against with two 1-0  losses in Boston. The Rangers are 11-7-2 since John Tortorella's arrival at the end of February.

Just as a point of reference, the Rangers were 7-9-4 in Tom Renney's last 20 games as Rangers head coach.

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