NEW YORK _ It seemed as if it took a month, but the Rangers finally clinched the first wild-card berth in the East, and likely will face the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Blueshirts, who had already clinched a playoff spot, needed a point and got two against the Flyers, scoring four unanswered goals after trailing by one and held on for a 4-3 victory on Sunday. The Rangers also ended an eight-game losing streak at Madison Square Garden, which had been heavy baggage for the Blueshirts, who had last won on home ice on Feb. 17.
Mats Zuccarello tied a career-high with three assists, setting up the first three goals by Mika Zibanejad, Brendan Smith and Oscar Lindberg. Chris Kreider's tip went past Flyers goalie Anthony Stolarz at 9:10 of the third period to make it 4-1.
Henrik Lundqvist made 20 saves, including a big glove stop on Claude Giroux with 15.2 seconds left, who were eliminated from the playoff hunt.
After a scoreless first, Valtteri Filppula, carrying the puck in the left circle, waltzed into the slot untouched and flipped a backhander past Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead just 33 seconds into the second. That gave Stolarz something to work with, but the lead didn't last long.
With Filppula off for holding Brady Skjei, Zuccarello's pass found Zibanejad above the left circle and with Kreider screening in front, the puck went through stick-side at 3:57 for a power-play goal and the tie.
Off a turnover in the neutral zone, Zuccarello saw Smith driving to the net and fed him, in stride. Smith's low backhand eluded Stolarz at 7:10. It was Smith's first goal since he was acquired from the Red Wings at the trade deadline.
In the third, the Rangers failed on an early power play, and Smith was penalized for interference at 3:19. But the Flyers were stymied, and Lindberg's wrister on a rebound between the circles for a 3-1 edge, and the Rangers were on their way to 100 points for the third straight year.
The Flyers scored two late goals on consecutive shots to make it interesting, and with 44.6 seconds to play and Stolarz pulled, Smith was penalized and the Rangers fought off a six-on-four.
Stolarz, 23, from Edison, N.J., had been summoned from the minors to back up goalie Michael Neuvirth on Saturday in Newark because Steve Mason had the flu. But he was forced to step in when Neuvirth collapsed in Saturday's game during a play stoppage and was hospitalized.
In the first, a standard hit by Tanner Glass drew a charging penalty with six minutes left, and with the man-advantage, the Flyers just missed taking the lead 35 seconds later. Lundqvist made a save on Wayne Simmonds and the rebound came in front to an open Brayden Schenn, whose shot pinged the crossbar from 12 feet away.
