NBC finally got it right with their Wednesday Night Rivalry crap. Definitely don't have to force the rivalry here like they did when the Flyers played the Red Wings. Nope, tonight is as heated as they get.
The Flyers have lost 7 in a row at Madison Square Garden and Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has become quite the thorn in the Flyers' side. Hank has won against the Flyers 26 of the 39 times they've played.
Both teams are coming in with momentum, the Rangers a bit more perhaps, on the heels of a 4 game win streak. The Flyers may have dropped Monday's contest to the Kings, but they were peaking in the 3rd period. Hopefully that carries over tonight.
The Rangers currently hold a 1 point advantage over Philly with 84 points, albeit with 2 games more played. A win tonight puts the Flyers at 85 points and in the driver's seat for 2nd in the Metropolitan. A loss puts them back in the disheveled mess that is the 3rd, 4th and 5th spot.
Don't mean to get to far ahead, but we may look back on this as the most important game of the regular season once things play out. Puck drop is at 8:00 pm. Go Flyers!
-Ben Lebo