Today at 1:00 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers (33-24-3, 69 points) and Philadelphia Flyers (30-24-6) faceoff live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for the third of five meetings against each other this season. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all of the action on 98.7 ESPN Radio while Philadelphia fans can do the same on 97.1 The Fanatic.
New York is three points ahead of Philadelphia in the standings and has won 12 of their last 15, while the three games Philadelphia has won have all come at home. These two teams have alternated wins this season as the Flyers defeated the Rangers 2-1 in Philadelphia on Oct. 24 while the Rangers gained some revenge with a 4-1 victory in New York on Jan. 12.
The Rangers are coming into play after inking defenseman Dan Girardi to a six-year $33 million contract extension which locked up the second half of their top defensive unit after the team had already signed Girardi's blueline partner Ryan McDonagh to an extension.
New York is coming off of a 2-1 victory over the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks behind a strong effort from goaltender Cam Talbot. Henrik Lundqvist, fresh off of guiding Sweden to the silver medal in the Sochi Olympics, will get the start for the Blueshirts today.
"We have to expect a tough game, every time you go into that building they are ready to play," Lundqvist said per NHL.com. "We have to play our best. The guys here are aware of how important this stretch is and are focusing really well."
Lundqvist is 22-18-3 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage this season. He'll likely be opposed by Steve Mason, who is 23-15-5 with a 2.55 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
Philadelphia is coming off of a 4-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday which snapped a four-game winning streak, but the team feels confident coming into a tough game against a divisional opponent.
"This team has a lot of character," coach Craig Berube said via NHL.com. "I expect a big game against the Rangers, I really do."
The Flyers have been led offensively by Claude Giroux (19-38-57), Wayne Simmonds (18-25-43) and Jakub Voracek (15-25-40) while Rangers will be without top scorer Mats Zuccarello (15-28-43) who leads the team in scoring along with Brad Richards (15-27-42) and Derek Stepan (10-26-36).
Two division rivals go head-to-head when the puck drops on the Rangers and Flyers today at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
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