New York played like it had a division title clinched already. The Flyers came out fired up like they had one to win.
Now the Atlantic Division will be settled in the final games with Philadelphia in control.
Jeff Carter set up two Flyers goals with cross-ice passes, Antero Niittymaki made 25 saves and the Flyers closed within a point of New York for the Atlantic Division lead in a 4-1 win over the Rangers on Saturday in Philadelphia.
"We're one point behind them and we've got one more game, so it looks pretty good," said returning Flyers center Peter Forsberg. "I think we showed everybody we can play good hockey for 60 minutes."
The Rangers could have clinched their first Atlantic Division title since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993-94 with a victory, but wrapping up that milestone again will have to wait. The Rangers lost their fourth straight game and finish the season Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against Ottawa.
"We did not attack the way we needed to," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "It started to get away from us when we fell behind. We didn't put enough rubber at the net."
The Flyers took control of the division Saturday despite still being in second place. If Philadelphia wins its last two games, they would win the Atlantic and clinch the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, no matter what happens to the Rangers. That won't be easy for the Flyers, since both games are on the road, starting Sunday at New Jersey. Philadelphia finishes the season Tuesday against the Islanders.
THRASHERS 4, BRUINS 3: At Atlanta, Andy Sutton scored twice, including the tie-breaking goal with 10:51 remaining, and Atlanta kept alive its postseason hopes. Sutton's second two-goal game of the season came four days after his first in a crucial 6-2 win over Tampa Bay, the team the Thrashers are chasing for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
STARS 4, WILD 3, OT: At Dallas, Trevor Daley scored with 33.7 seconds left in overtime and the Stars rallied to win after blowing a two-goal lead in the third period. Daley's goal, the only shot in overtime for the Stars, came from the left circle and bounced off the glove of goalie Manny Fernandez in what was the final moment of Minnesota's season.
SHARKS 6, MIGHTY DUCKS 3: At San Jose, Calif., Jonathan Cheechoo became the NHL's leading goal-scorer with his fifth hat trick, and Joe Thornton took the league scoring lead with three points as the Sharks clinched fifth place in the conference with their eighth straight win.
SABRES 4, CANADIENS 2: At Montreal, Chris Drury and J.P. Dumont scored early in the third period and Teppo Numminen added an empty-net goal for Buffalo. Montreal, which hasn't been to the postseason in consecutive seasons since 1996-98, needs one point in its season finale Tuesday against New Jersey to clinch its second straight trip to the playoffs.
MAPLE LEAFS 5, SENATORS 1: At Toronto, Mats Sundin scored and had an assist and the Maple Leafs did their part to keep their slim playoff hopes alive for at least a few minutes. But soon after the game, Tampa Bay beat Carolina 3-2 in overtime to eliminate the Maple Leafs from playoff contention.
ISLANDERS 5, PENGUINS 4, SO: At Uniondale, N.Y., Robert Nilsson scored in the sixth round of a shootout to give the Islanders the victory. Michel Ouellet scored in the first round for Pittsburgh, and Shawn Bates tied it up in the third round.
BLUE JACKETS 5, BLACKHAWKS 2: At Columbus, Ohio, David Vyborny scored twice and had an assist in the third period to help Columbus set a franchise record with 72 points. Dan Fritsche and Rick Nash each had a goal and an assist and Mark Hartigan also scored.
LIGHTNING 3, HURRICANES 2, OT: At Tampa, Fla., Martin St. Louis' breakaway goal with 10.7 seconds remaining in overtime moved the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning a step closer to clinching a postseason berth.
PREDATORS 5, COYOTES 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Nashville goalie Chris Mason was credited with a goal and made 23 saves for his fifth consecutive victory. Mason was credited with the goal when the Coyotes shot the puck into their own net on a delayed penalty midway through the third period.
CAPITALS 2, PANTHERS 1, SO: At Sunrise, Fla., Matt Pettinger beat Jamie McLennan with a low shot in the fourth round of a shootout and Brent Johnson stopped Jozef Stumpel's attempt to lift Washington.
RED WINGS 3, BLUES 2: At St. Louis, Henrik Zetterberg scored with 9 seconds to play for Detroit. Zetterberg one-timed a pass from Brendan Shanahn past Jason Bacashihua to give the Red Wings their seventh straight win and their 12th consecutive road victory.