Flyers on the Brink of Elimination Following 4-2 Loss to Rangers

NEW YORK - The way he played in Game 4, it appeared as though Steve Mason was capable of stealing a series for the Flyers.

Only problem is he needed help. The Flyers said they didn't intend on relying too heavily on their goaltender, but Sunday they did.

After a couple missed opportunities early on in the game, the New York Rangers cashed in with a 4-2 win, leaving Mason without much of a shot of stealing another game.

Early on, the Flyers had a couple gift-wrapped opportunities and failed to capitalize on them. They got an early power play thanks to a questionable-at-best slashing call on Carl Hagelin and got zero shots on the man advantage.

With another power play (and another questionable call) before the midway point of the first period, the Flyers got three shots on Henrik Lundqvist, but none made it past the New York goaltender.

Predictably, New York struck first after gaining momentum from a pair of killed penalties.

At 11:53 of the first period, Marc Staal's wrister from the slot tipped slightly off the stick of a pokechecking Braydon Coburn and it eluded Mason for the Rangers' first goal.

Although the Flyers possessed the puck a lot in the first period and won the faceoff battle, they found themselves down a goal. With the missed opportunities in the first period, it felt like the Flyers wouldn't have a better opportunity to get the lead.

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