NEW YORK – This time, there was no third-period comeback.
No heroics from the Flyers' big guns.
The goalie? Steve Mason did his best to single-handedly carry the Flyers in Game 7 against the Rangers.
Without him? It would have been a blowout and not the 2-1 crushing loss that ended the Flyers' season Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts will face the Penguins on Friday to start the Metropolitan Division Finals in Pittsburgh.
The Rangers had a 2-0 lead when Jason Akeson scored off his own blocked shot by Marc Staal for his second goal of the series that breathed life into the Flyers at 4:32 of the third period.
Goalie Henrik Lundqvist reacted to Akeson’s first shot but was not set for the follow-up.
That led to a strong push by the Flyers and several minutes when they nearly tied the game before the Rangers answered defensively to clear pucks out of their end.
Mason was simply unconscious in the second period with 16 saves on 18 shots, as the Rangers drew momentum off two failed Flyers power plays. The two goals in the second proved to be all Lundqvist would need in front of him.
The Flyers had won their previous three Game 7s, dating back to the spring of 2008.
Playoff history
The Rangers came into the game 5-0 lifetime in Game 7s at Madison Square Garden.
A first
This was the first time the Flyers and Rangers met in a Game 7 in this arena.
Another first
The opening period was scoreless, the first time that happened in the series.
Fast start
Both teams came out skating hard. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault inserted Dan Carcillo in the lineup on Brad Richards' line for J.T. Miller to be an irritant. The Flyers led in shots, 10-7, and they were quality in nature through the first 14 minutes of play.
Mason’s glove
He got a piece of Rick Nash’s wide-open shot in the slot with 3:57 left in the first period off a Flyers turnover. He then followed it with a rebound save on Marty St. Louis within a millisecond.
Mason’s pad
He had a couple in the game but his left pad stop on St. Louis soon after Carcillo’s goal was priceless.
First goal
The Rangers struck first at 3:06 of the second period on another Carcillo goal out of the penalty box, but not directly tied to the penalty. He was serving a minor for too many men on the ice and was out for a while as the Rangers caused havoc in front of Mason, who had very little help from Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn. Carcillo scored off a tip-in from a Mats Zuccarello shot. The last team to give up the first goal in a Game 7 and win were the Flyers in 2010 against Boston.
Special teams
The Flyers were 0 for 2 on the power play. They were brutal at the worst possible time.
The Flyers were very poor on the setup and indecisive on two second-period power plays. One shot on the first one; none on the second with several blocked shots.
NHL
The Rangers were 0 for 1 on the man advantage.
Second period
Benoit Pouliot made it 2-0 soon after the Flyers failed to score on their second power play on a laser cross-ice pass from Derick Brassard, who had a nice pass from Anton Stralman. It was a backbreaker of a goal. Zac Rinaldo had a failed cleating attempt, too.
Shorthanded chances
The Rangers had two of them. Mason bailed his team out with a save during the Flyers' first power play and also turned aside Ryan McDonagh on the Flyers’ second power play.
Penalty kill
The Flyers killed off 21 straight Rangers power plays. The Flyers did a good job in the series collapsing down low to take away passes in the middle.
Faceoffs
The Flyers were dominant in the opening period, winning a staggering 72 percent of the draws. Yet by the end of the second period, it was 50-50 as the Rangers had the puck most of the middle stanza.
Shots
The Rangers were dominant in the second period with 18 shots to the Flyers' five.
Scratches
Defenseman Hal Gill; forwards Jay Rosehill, Tye McGinn, Steve Downie (post-concussion syndrome), and Chris VandeVelde; goalie Cal Heeter.
Black Aces
Defensemen Brandon Manning, Oliver Lauridsen and Mark Alt; forwards Scott Laughton, Ben Holmstrom, Nick Cousins, Brandon Alderson, Petr Straka; goalie Yann Danis.