Rangers rally for Winter Classic victory over Flyers

Published 4:00 am Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — Alone in the cold, it was up to Henrik Lundqvist to preserve a Classic comeback.

His signature moment came with 19.6 seconds left after New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh was whistled for covering the puck in the crease. Flyers center Danny Briere streaked down the ice — a replica of the Liberty Bell and bundled-up fans behind his back — trying to send this one into overtime.

Lundqvist dropped to his knees on top of a chilly baseball field and stoned Briere with his pads when the center tried to sneak it through his legs.

This made-for-TV showcase had found its brightest star.

Lundqvist stopped 34 shots, Brad Richards scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the New York Rangers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in the Winter Classic on Monday at Citizens Bank Park.

“I was just trying to be patient and do my thing,” Lundqvist said. “He’s a sneaky guy, and there was a lot of pressure on me.”

Rangers coach John Tortorella wondered if the officials wanted their own time in the spotlight to build the drama.

“They called a penalty shot which I still don’t understand,” he said. “I’m not sure if NBC got together with the refs to turn this into an overtime game. I thought the game was reffed horrible.

“I just thought tonight, in that third period, it was disgusting.”

Also on Monday:

Senators 3

Devils 2

OTTAWA — Daniel Alfredsson scored his 401st goal on a power play 4 minutes into overtime to give Ottawa a win over New Jersey.

Oilers 4

Blackhawks 3

CHICAGO — Ryan Smyth, Taylor Hall and Andy Sutton scored in the second period and Edmonton bounced back from Daniel Carcillo’s nasty hit during a chippy victory over Chicago.

Avalanche 2

Kings 1

LOS ANGELES — Ryan O’Reilly scored the tying goal with 5:43 left in the third period, Milan Hejduk got the only goal in a shootout and Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves to lead Colorado to a win over Los Angeles.

Sharks 3

Canucks 2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Michael Handzus scored the only goal in a shootout to lift San Jose over Vancouver.