Rangers 4, Flyers 2
Marian Gaborik netted his NHL-leading 21st goal of the season and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 28 shots as the New York Rangers pulled even atop the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 home triumph over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.
Rookie defenseman Stu Bickel set up goals by Derek Stepan and former Flyer Ruslan Fedotenko and captain Ryan Callahan added a power-play tally for New York, which has won four in a row and 11 of 15 to match Philadelphia with 46 points.
Lundqvist was once again at the top of his game by rendering the Flyers virtually powerless for the second time in as many meetings this season. The 29-year-old Swede, who stopped all 29 shots he faced in a 2-0 victory on Nov. 26, saw his bid for his 38th career shutout end midway through the third period on defenseman Andrej Meszaros' power-play goal.
The teams will reconvene on Jan. 2 for the Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Stepan opened the scoring at 10:18 of the second period after redirecting Bickel's point shot just inside the right post for his eighth goal of the season. Stepan was just outside the right faceoff circle before extending his stick to alter the shot.
Fedotenko doubled the advantage just over five minutes later after he redirected Bickel's wrist shot off the pad of Ilya Bryzgalov and into the back of the net. Bickel has four points in his first three NHL games.
Gaborik scored on a breakaway 1:48 into the third period for his sixth goal in four contests. With his 21st tally, Gaborik moved ahead of Toronto Maple Leafs star Phil Kessel, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and Tampa Bay Lightning stud Steven Stamkos for the league lead.
James van Riemsdyk netted his ninth goal of the season for Philadelphia, which slipped to 8-2-1 since falling to New York late last month.