Rangers at Flyers
THE STORY: The New York Rangers failed in their first bid to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference. After dropping a 2-1 decision to Boston on Sunday, coach John Tortorella's club will look to accomplish the feat on Tuesday by also completing a season sweep of the host Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia sits one point behind fourth-place Pittsburgh.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Rangers), CS Philadelphia (Flyers)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (50-22-7): Sweeping Philadelphia is not a common occurrence in New York, which last turned the trick in the 1971-72 season. By notching their sixth victory against the Flyers, the Rangers would also gain the upper hand in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Henrik Lundqvist has certainly played a significant role in New York's dominance of Philadelphia. The All-Star netminder has yielded only eight goals in five games this season to improve to 21-10-3 in his career versus the Atlantic Division rival.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (46-24-9): Philadelphia pushed the buttons of its potential conference quarterfinal foe by posting a 6-4 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday, but lost Danny Briere (upper back contusion) and defenseman Nicklas Grossmann (lower body) to injury. Wayne Simmonds netted his fifth goal in four games to snap a tie in the third period as Philadelphia improved to 4-1-1 in its last six contests. Named the NHL's First Star of the Week, Simmonds had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 loss on Feb. 11. Coach Peter Laviolette was fined $10,000 for his actions in Sunday's altercation. Laviolette got up on the benches and verbally challenged Penguins coach Dan Bylsma before getting ejected.
OVERTIME:
1. Marian Gaborik scored his 40th goal Sunday for the second time in three seasons and third in his career. The All-Star has three tallies and four assists versus Philadelphia this season.
2. Ilya Bryzgalov has won only one of five career matches versus the Rangers, while Sergei Bobrovsky - who has started three straight games in his countryman's absence - has the same success rate. Bobrovsky struggled mightily in the Feb. 11 game.