Wednesday's 8-5 loss to the lowly Philadelphia Flyers was the latest blow to their playoff chances, with only one more point needed from the Montreal Canadiens to put the Blueshirts out of their misery. They could also end the pain themselves with a loss to the rival Islanders on Thursday night.

The 31-year-old Brodzinski, a career journeyman before settling into an NHL role the past two years in New York, earned a nod Wednesday morning as the Rangers’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy, which is given to the player who “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”

An 8-5 loss to the Flyers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden pushed the Rangers to the brink of elimination, which could become official as soon as Thursday night on Long Island if they lose the second game of this back-to-back slate against the Islanders.

The Flyers and Rangers combined to score nine goals in the third period. Brad Shaw is now 4-1-0 as the Flyers' interim coach.

Tyson Foerster scored a hat trick and rookie Aleksei Kolosov made 24 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers downed the New York Rangers 8-5 to put the Rangers on the brink of elimination from the playoff race.

Tyson Foerster recorded his first career hat trick and Sean Couturier scored the tiebreaking goal with 8:05 remaining in the third period Wednesday as the visiting Philadelphia Flyers earned an 8-5 vi