Rangers top Flyers in Game 7, advance to face Pens

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Carcillo provided the burst of energy the New York Rangers were counting on in Game 7. The big goal was quite a bonus.

Carcillo gave the Rangers the lead with the first of their two second-period goals, and Henrik Lundqvist did just enough to hold off the Philadelphia Flyers and send New York into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 2-1 win last night.

The Rangers advance to play the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Carcillo was added to the lineup, after he sat out the previous two games, and the move paid instant dividends. He turned a crisp pass into his second goal of the series at 3:06 of the middle frame.

“When you’re in, you try to do something to stay in, whether it be offensively or bring a lot of energy,” Carcillo said. “That’s just what I was trying to do every time I was in this series.”

Benoit Pouliot stretched the Rangers’ lead to 2-0, and Lundqvist made it stand up with a 26-save effort one night after New York was beaten 5-2 in Philadelphia to set up the decisive Game 7.

“No one was jittery. We all knew what to do,” Carcillo said. “On this team, no one was shying away from the big stage.”

Lundqvist watched the third period of Game 6 from the bench, and started his preparation then for yesterday.

“Coming home last night, I was so disappointed,” said Lundqvist, who improved to 4-1 in Game 7s. “But at the same time, I was mad because we couldn’t come up with a better performance. To play a Game 7 at home and to win, that was the inspiration.

“We played a really strong series. I think we were the better team. We pushed the pace almost every game. We definitely earned this one.”