Rangers' late goal dooms Flyers

NEW YORK - Wayne Simmonds said when he thinks of Flyers-Rangers, he thinks of "tight-checking," close, low-scoring hockey games.

Not wide-open, free-for-alls with clear breaks toward the Flyers' crease.

Through a series of defensive blunders, that's exactly what Ilya Bryzgalov faced on Tuesday night, as the Flyers kicked off their most important week of the season with a 4-2 loss at Madison Square Garden.

Not a single one of the Rangers' goals came through a deflection, screen or pile of bodies.

"It's not like we were under siege," coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's almost like we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. There weren't a lot of chances, either way, but we made more mistakes than they did. That's why they won the game.

"You're never going to see 48 shots against the Rangers. It's going to be hard-fought, tough to get your ice, and that's how the second period was."

Unfortunately for the Flyers, their airtight second period didn't continue when the third period rolled around.

Both of New York's tallies in the third period - to break a 2-2 tie - came as a result of ill-advised line changes, leaving lethal weapon Rick Nash a free shot at Bryzgalov. Nash, who has collected all seven of his goals this season in the third period, doesn't miss often. His former teammate in Columbus, Jake Voracek, would know.

"We made a couple mistakes and that cost us," said Voracek, who netted his 17th point over the last 10 games. "When you have Rick Nash coming at you with a full head of steam, he's a hard guy to stop."

Nash tucked one snipe inside the far post, and maneuvered around a slower Bryzgalov for another. One of the Flyers' line changes was bludgeoned off a turnover in the neutral zone, crippling what would have normally been a routine swap of blue liners.

Instead, as Luke Schenn was skating off, Nash was blasting into the Flyers' zone and Braydon Coburn could not provide enough support for Kimmo Timonen.

Yes, the Flyers were left to finish the game with five defenseman when Nick Grossmann (lower-body injury) did not return for the second and third periods, but that does not account for their mental lapses.

"We can't do those kind of mistakes in these kinds of games, it bites you in the ass," Timonen said. "Those are mental issues, not system issues. It's reading the play and staying on the ice when you can't change. If you're tired, you can stay out there. Those things should be easy to fix. It cost us the game today."

The Garden continues to be a house of horrors for the Flyers, who have been outscored by the Rangers, 24-7, in six (0-5-1) straight games. Their last win in Manhattan came on Feb. 20, 2011.

"They always end up finishing harder than we do," Simmonds said. "We aren't going to win a lot of games like that. Things like that [line changes] can't happen."

Laviolette has been harping on simple fixes, like line changes, since early in the season. When facing off against a rival nipping at the Flyers' heals in the standings, it fell on deaf ears.

"We talked about doing the opposite, taking out those mistakes and how we need to take them out," Laviolette said. "And we didn't get it done."

With the Flyers trailing 3-2 early in the third period, a Kimmo Timonen slap shot deflected and appeared to strike New York's Marc Staal directly in the right eye.

Staal, 26, wailed on the ice in panic as blood poured from his face in an eerily silent Garden. He was not wearing a facial visor, which may have prevented the injury. The Flyers know eye injuries all too well, from career-ending injuries to Barry Ashbee in the past to Chris Pronger and Ian Laperriere more recently.

In the first period, Jake Voracek scored and assisted on Wayne Simmonds' goal . . . The Rangers were without forward Brad Richards (unspecified injury), who has 38 points in 39 career games against the Flyers . . . Defenseman Kurtis Foster, who was scratched, did not participate in the Flyers' morning skate. He was back in Philadelphia with an illness . . . Henrik Lundqvist is 10-1-0 against the Flyers in his last 11 games, with a save percentage over .950. He has 24 wins against the Flyers, pulling within two victories of John Vanbiesbrouck for most against the Flyers in franchise history.