Preview: Rangers Host Flyers on 50th Anniversary at Current MSG

Rangers (27-27-5, 59 pts) vs. Flryers (29-19-10, 68 pts)

12 pm; Madison Square Garden

NBC; ESPN 98.7 FM

The Blueshirts were victorious in the only meeting of the season against the Flyers, a 5-1 win back on Jan. 16 at The Garden.
The Flyers are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Metropolitan Division, jockeying for position at the top of the division with Washington, Pittsburgh and the Devils.
Philadelphia comes into Sunday's game with five wins in its last six games, including a 2-1 overtime win Friday night against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
Claude Giroux leads the club with 66 points in 58 games, followed closely by Jakub Voracek's 65. Sean Couturier is having a breakout offensive season with 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points, all of which are career-highs.
No. 1 netminder Brian Elliott is out long-term following surgery on a core muscle, paving the way for Michal Neuvirth to man the net. So far, so good, as the netminder has three wins in his last four games, with the only blemish a shootout loss to the Devils on Tuesday.

Players to Watch

Despite the poor outing on Saturday, Lundqvist has great numbers against the Flyers for his career, including as of late. The netminder is 9-1-1 in his last 11 appearances against the Flyers, and 21-4-1 against Philadelphia since March 6, 2011. Overall, he's 35-14-4 with four shutouts against the Flyers for his career.
Giroux saw his four-game point streak snapped on Friday, but prior to that he had been red-hot with goals in all four games to go along with four assists. The captain is having his best offensive season since he posted 86 points in 82 games during the 2013-14 season, and has already eclipsed his stats from last year.

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have won seven of their last eight games against Philadelphia, dating back to Jan. 16, 2016 (7-1-0 record). The Blueshirts have also earned at least one point in 12 of their last 15 games against the Flyers, dating back to Mar. 26, 2014 (11-3-1 record).