Winter Classic Prelude

The Rangers and Flyers battled it out in Madison Square Garden a little more than one week before the outdoor Winter Classic match. This was the second game in the Garden between the two teams this season, and the second win for the Rangers.

Late in the first period Marc-Andre Bourdon gave Brandon Prust a few shoves after HBO's 24/7 star Ilya Bryzgalov covered up the puck. The two swung and spun wildly until Prust caught Bourdon with a couple of rights to end the fight.

A similar situation in front of Henrik Lundqvist got the second fight started. Tom Sestito paired up with Brian Boyle, possibly the only Ranger bigger than him on the ice at the time. Boyle hung on as they skated around until Sestito was able to get an arm free and land a few shots.

It took half a game before the scoring started, but once it did New York took a commanding 3-0 lead by the beginning of the third. Philadelphia made it interesting at the end, pulling within two goals with a little over two minutes left, but that was end of scoreboard changes and the Rangers now lead the season series 2-0.