| New York Rangers – Philadelphia Flyers | |
|---|---|
 The Rangers and Flyers line up for a faceoff during a game at Madison Square Garden. | |
| History | |
| 1st Meeting | November 16, 1967[1] |
| Last Meeting | February 14, 2016 |
| Next Meeting | November 25, 2016 |
| Number of Meetings | 339 |
| Regular Season Series | 18-17-7 (NYR) |
| All-Time Series | 110–109–37 (PHI) |
| Post Season History | |
| Post Season Meetings | PHI: 6-5 |
| Post Season Series | PHI: 30-24 |
| 1974 Semifinals | Flyers won, 4–3 |
| 1979 Quarter Finals | Rangers won, 4–1 |
| 1980 Quarter Finals | Flyers won, 4–1 |
| 1982 Patrick Divison Semi Finals | Rangers won, 3–1 |
| 1983 Patrick Division Semi Finals | Rangers won, 3–0 |
| 1985 Patrick Division Semi Finals | Flyers won, 3–0 |
| 1986 Patrick Division Semi Finals | Rangers won, 3–2 |
| 1987 Patrick Division Semi Finals | Flyers won, 4–2 |
| 1995 Eastern Conference Semi Finals | Flyers won, 4–0 |
| 1997 Eastern Conference Finals | Flyers won, 4–1 |
The New York Rangers-Philadelphia Flyers rivalry (also commonly referred to as the Battle of the Broads or Broadway versus Broad Street) is one of the most storied and well known rivalries ever in the National Hockey League. The rivalry is one of the Atlantic Division rivalries.
The two teams have met in both the regular season and during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Although the Rangers seems to have more success in the regular season, the Flyers have had more success over the Rangers in the playoffs.
Playoff battles[]
1970s[]
They have met ten times in Stanley Cup playoff contention, with the Flyers winning six of the series, and they have been division rivals since the 1974–75 season. On their way to a Stanley Cup title 1974, the Flyers eliminated the Rangers in the 1974 Semifinals. The series went 7 games, with the Rangers sealing their own fate, taking a too-many-men penalty in the waning moments of the game while trying to replace the goaltender with an extra attacker. The home team won all 7 games of the series. The Rangers defeated the Flyers in 5 games in the 1979 Quarter Finals on their way to a Stanley Cup Finals berth; the Flyers did the same to New York in 1980 Quarterfinals.
During this period, Fred Shero coached the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975 and the Rangers to the 1979 Finals.
1980s[]
During the 1980s, the two teams met in the Patrick Division Semifinals 5 out of 6 seasons. Beginning in 1982 Patrick Divison Semi Finals, the Rangers defeated the Flyers in 4 games, then swept them in three straight in 1982–83. In 1984–85, the Flyers returned the favor by sweeping the Rangers, but in 1985–86, the Rangers did revenge, eliminating the Flyers in 5. In 1986–87, the first round format was expanded to best-of-seven, and the Flyers eliminated the Rangers in 6. Both times the Flyers eliminated the Rangers, they reached the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Edmonton Oilers. The coach of the Flyers when they went to the Finals during this period, Mike Keenan, coached the Rangers to the Finals in 1994 (most recent finals appearance) and coached in Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals with both teams.[2]
1990s[]
The Flyers and Rangers renewed their playoff rivalry once more when the two teams met in the playoffs in 1994–95 and 1996–97, both series won by the Flyers. The first series was bitter for the Rangers — the Flyers' four-game sweep eliminated the defending Cup champions in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Many Flyers fans remember this for the second game the Flyers won in overtime. Kevin Haller scored, sending normally laid-back Flyers color analyst Gary Dornhoefer into a frenzy. The latter series was the Eastern Conference Finals that sent the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings, who won their first championship since 1955. With a 4-1 series win, it marked the last time the Rangers would make the playoffs until 2005–06 and it later turned out to be both Wayne Gretzky's and Mark Messier's last playoff game.
21st Century[]
Flyers center Jeff Carter takes a faceoff in front of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
2009–10: Shootout Victory Begins Flyers' Cinderella run to Stanley Cup Finals[]
- See also: 2009–10 New York Rangers season, 2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers season, and 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
The Flyers' Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, who won their first championship since 1961 in six games, began on the final day of the regular season when they met the Rangers in a winner-take-all match-up for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia beat the Rangers 2-1 in a historic shootout, the first do or die shootout for a playoff spot in NHL history. With the win, the Flyers eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs.
2010–11[]
The first time the two teams meet, on November 4 at Wells Fargo Center, will revive the shootout to determine a playoff spot. The Rangers will get reminders of that shootout loss that eliminiated them from the playoffs when they see a banner a top of the rafters, saying "Philadelphia Flyers, 2009-10 Eastern Conference Champions." The Flyers raised that banner to the rafters before their home opener on October 11.
Causes[]
The rivalry stems and attributes to two factors. Both teams are in the same division and the two cities are approximately two hours apart by car either on the New Jersey Turnpike or I-95.[3] The Rangers' fanbase comes from the New York metropolitan area, which includes southern Connecticut, and northern and central New Jersey as well as parts of upstate New York.[4] Conversely, the Flyers' fanbase generally draws from the Delaware Valley (the Philadelphia metropolitan area), which includes Southeastern Pennsylvania, central New Jersey south of Princeton, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware and extreme parts of northeast Maryland.[5] The New York – Philadelphia rivalry is evident in other sports (for example, the rivalries between the Mets–Phillies rivalry of Major League Baseball, the Eagles–Giants rivalry of the National Football League, and the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association.)[6]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Flyers History - History versus New York Rangers.
- ↑ Morrison, Scott (2008). Hockey Night in Canada: My Greatest Day. Toronto: Key Porter Books, 106–109. ISBN 978-1-55470-086-8.
- ↑ New York, NY to Philadelphia, PA. Google Maps.
- ↑ Rosenwaike, Ira (1972). Population history of New York City. Syracuse University Press, 169. ISBN 9780815621553.
- ↑ Howe, Barbara J. (1997). Houses and homes: exploring their history, Kemp, Emory L., Rowman Altamira, 102. ISBN 0761989293.
- ↑ White, Paul. "Battle lines drawn: Who gets the last word in the NL East?", March 6, 2009. “The cities have had heated battles in other sports, most notably football and hockey.”
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