Flyers 4, Rangers 2
PHILADELPHIA -- Kimmo Timonen, Brayden Schenn, Erik Gustafsson and Jakub Voracek scored goals, Steve Mason stopped 38 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored for the Rangers, who hold the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York (21-17-4) was two points ahead of Winnipeg, which faced Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
The Flyers (19-21-3) are five points behind the Rangers with five games remaining. They're on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007 and the second time in 18 years.
The Rangers had dominated the series lately, winning 10 of past 11 meetings.
Coming off a 7-3 win on Monday night in Montreal that kept their slim playoff hopes alive, the Flyers jumped ahead 2-0 in the first period.
Schenn got it started with his first goal in six games. A lucky bounce helped Brandon Manning register an assist on the play for his first NHL point. On the breakout with Schenn, Manning took a shot that hit a Rangers stick and bounced right to Schenn, who lifted a shot past goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Gustafsson made it 2-0 later in the first by snapping a one-timer through Lundqvist's legs. It was Gustafsson's third goal in eight games and second in two nights after not getting any in his first 14 games.
Lundqvist, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, has been spectacular after a subpar start. He had allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of the previous 13 games, going 8-3-2 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in that span.
The Rangers cut it to 2-1 on Zuccarello's goal early in the second. Zuccarello took a pass from John Moore, streaked down the left side and fired a shot between defenseman Oliver Lauridsen's legs and past Mason for his first goal since returning from the KHL.
Timonen blasted a one-timer to beat Lundqvist and give the Flyers a 3-1 lead at the midpoint of the second period.
Stepan got a fluky goal to get the Rangers within 3-2 with 12:32 left. His shot in front bounced around and trickled by Mason for his 15th goal.
But Mason preserved the lead and Voracek's empty-netter was his career-high 19th goal of the season.
Acquired from Columbus earlier this month to take the load off Ilya Bryzgalov and challenge for the starting job next year, Mason was excellent against the Rangers. He made outstanding glove saves on Dan Girardi and Stepan and another one on Zuccarello in the third.
NOTES: Flyers defenseman Bruno Gervais will have season-ending surgery Thursday to repair a torn stomach muscle. Another defenseman, Kent Huskins, missed the game after sustaining a concussion on Monday. ... Mason made his first home start for Philadelphia. ... Lundqvist entered with a .948 save percentage in April. ... A moment of silence was held before the game to honor the victims of the Boston bombings.
