Rangers vs. Flyers Tonight At 7 p.m.

The Rangers are back at it tonight against the Flyers, and will once again look to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division. The Rangers need just one point or a Penguins loss to do so. The Rangers will look to sweep the season series against the Flyers tonight and move to 6-0-0 against them on the season.

Same lineups for the Rangers tonight as Sunday against the Bruins, meaning Henrik Lundqvist will start his tenth straight game. As I said on Sunday, I think the only way the Rangers will play Marty Biron again this season is if the Rangers clinch everything before the last game of the season against Washington.

There has been a ton of fighting in the Rangers-Flyers series this season, so I wouldn't be surprised to see players on both teams drop the gloves early to try and set a tone for the game. It's interesting to note that Jody Shelley is in the lineup for the Flyers and will play against the Rangers for the first time since December. If you don't remember, Shelley and Brandon Dubinsky took several verbal jabs at each other on 24/7 leading up to the Winter Classic.

For the Flyers, Ilya Bryzgalov will start in goal after missing the last three games with an injured foot. Bryzgalov went 10-2-1 with a 1.43 GAA in the month of March, but he's 0-2 with a 4.11 GAA against the Rangers this season. Danny Briere, who was injured in the Flyers' Sunday afternoon game against the Penguins, will miss the game and is out indefinitely with a back injury.

Also, a reminder that the game is on MSG2 tonight. The Knicks are on MSG and the Devils are on MSG+.

Thoughts On First Episode of HBO's 24/7

The first episode of 24/7: The Road to the Winter Classic, which documents both the Rangers and the Flyers leading up to their Jan. 2 showdown in this season's Winter Classic, debuted on HBO tonight. I've been eagerly anticipating this documentary ever since the Rangers were first announced as a participant in the Winter Classic, and the show certainly did not disappoint.

Click below to read my thoughts on the first episode of 24/7 and what I liked/didn't like about it.

Rangers vs. Flyers Officially Announced For 2012 Winter Classic

At a press conference from Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman finally announced what he called "the worst kept secret in sports" - that the Rangers and Flyers will square off in the 2012 Winter Classic on January 2nd at 1 p.m. from Citizen's Bank Park in Philly. The NHL also confirmed that HBO will indeed be doing their second installment of the 24/7 mini-series leading up to the Winter Classic, with the first episode airing on December 14. The jerseys the teams will be wearing for the event weren't unveiled yet, however.

Click below to read more, including some trash talking that was initiated by Glen Sather later on in the press conference.

Larry Brooks: Rangers Now Favorite To Land Brad Richards

A few weeks ago, Larry Brooks reported in the New York Post that some people within the Rangers felt as if they wouldn't be able to sign Brad Richards because of the contract he'll be after. This morning in the Post, though, Brooks reported that Richards is essentially the Rangers' to lose and that several executives from around the league said during the NHL Entry Draft over the weekend that Richards wants to be a Ranger.

Flyers Clean House; Trade Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, Sign Bryzgalov

Original Image Credit: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

 The Philadelphia Flyers had an eventful day today to say the very least. After dealing their leading goal-scorer, Jeff Carter, to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier in the day, they then traded team captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings and capped their day off by signing goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to a huge nine-year, $51 million deal, TSN confirmed.

Rangers-Flyers Will Headline 2012 Winter Classic in Philly

The New York Post is reporting what has been rumored for a while now - the Rangers and Flyers will face each other in next year's Winter Classic from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Jan. 2, 2012. The NHL will confirm the announcement once the 2011-2012 team schedules are released, which is rumored to be sometime this week