This is the sixth and final time this season the Flyers have a chance to actually show the New York Rangers they can beat them.

So far, the Rangers have won the previous five. Some of the games appeared closer than they were.

Last time the Rangers swept a season series against the Flyers was 1971-72 with Rod Gilbert and company.

You never know. These two clubs could meet somewhere in the playoffs. So it might be nice for the Flyers to get a win now.

It's big, Scott Hartnell said. You want to have a recollection of a win against these guys. Last year sometime we beat 'em. We gotta play hard, play focused hockey.

Truth is, goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been absolutely dominating against the Flyers this season.

I don't think we've played our best game against them, Claude Giroux said. I think we've got a lot of things to work on.

They're a pretty good team defensively and we haven't really scored a lot of goals against them. Lundqvist is a pretty good goalie and we gotta figure out a way to get past him.

The big Swedish goalie has a 1.60 goals against average and .947 save percentage with one shutout.

By contrast, Tuesdays starter Ilya Bryzgalov is 0-2 with a 4.10 GAA and .869 against the Rangers this season.

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette doesnt put much stock into how a team does against another during the regular season as an indication of what might happen in post-season.

Well, I think they've given lots of teams fits, he said. We've taken our share. They've had a strong year. They've played well at home, played well on the road; that's why they sit where they sit.

Youre fined
Laviolette didnt have a whole lot to say about his 10,000 fine for Sundays third period bench outburst.

I'll answer the one question because it's new news, he said. I respect the league's decision. It was one of those incidents that don't happen very often and their decision was to fine me, and that's fine. I respect that.

E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net