Rangers at Flyers
THE STORY: The New York Rangers will face off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in the first game of a back-to-back weekend set. The Rangers have won all four previous meetings this season and six straight overall against the Flyers. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto leads all scorers in the season series with four points and goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average versus the Flyers.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), Comcast (Philadelphia)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (34-13-5): Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dominic Moore was fined $2,500 by the NHL on Friday for the hit that injured Ruslan Fedotenko on Thursday night. "We're still pretty angry about that," C Brian Boyle told ESPN New York. "That was a really, really dirty play. ... He should take a look in the mirror because that was garbage." Moore laid his shoulder into Fedotenko’s chin early in the third period of the Rangers’ 4-3 overtime victory. Moore was given a minor penalty for roughing on the play. Fedotenko’s cheek was extremely swollen on Friday. He won’t travel with the team to Philadelphia.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (31-16-7): G Ilya Bryzgalov is questionable with the flu for Saturday’s contest. After playing in 38 games this season, Bryzgalov boasts a 2.78 goals-against average, ranking 35th out of 46 goaltenders that have played in the NHL this season. His save percentage of .900 is even worse, tied for 39th in the league. The Flyers signed the Russian netminder to a nine-year, $51 million deal last summer. Philadelphia has won just once in its last four games.
OVERTIME:
1. The Flyers are 4-7-1 this season in games that start before 7 p.m. They’ve been shut out in two of those contests and have allowed at least five goals in five of them.
2. Lundqvist is one of two goaltenders to make at least 30 starts without being pulled from a game this season.
3. Philadelphia is averaging 3.26 goals per game, which is second-best in the league.