It came down to one more game. And the Philadelphia Flyers didn't disappoint.
Brian Boucher stopped Olli Jokinen on the final attempt of the shootout to send the Flyers into the playoffs and eliminated the New York Rangers with a 2-1 victory Sunday.
This is the second time the teams met over the weekend. The Rangers forced what was essentially a one-game playoff when they beat the Flyers on Friday night. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was sensational, but Matt Carle tied the game at 1 early in the third period.
This contest marked the third time in Flyers history a playoff spot was determined in the final game of the season and the first since 1972. Philadelphia is happy to be back home, where it is 14-5-1 since the start of January.
The Flyers had been in a tailspin towards the end of the season only winning three of their last 11 games.
"I'm just glad we gave ourselves another day,” said captain Chris Drury who scored the tying goal in the first period. "We wanted another chance and we battled pretty hard the last couple of weeks to get to Game 82."
