Hagelin scores as Rangers beat Flyers

New blood has given the Rangers a bit of a transfusion.

Carl Hagelin, a rookie out of the University of Michigan who earned an assist in his first NHL game Friday, scored his first goal Saturday at 5:06 of the third period to secure a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in a playoff-like matinee at Madison Square Garden.

With the Rangers holding a 1-0 lead on Brad Richards' power-play goal in the second period, Hagelin's backhand shot was stopped by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, but the 23-year-old Swedish left wing pounced on the rebound and batted the puck out of the air past Bobrovsky.

"He's not only fast but he's playing smart," coach John Tortorella said of Hagelin, who, along with linemate John Mitchell, was called up from the AHL Connecticut Whale on Thursday. "He puts himself in great spots in getting to pucks and is doing the right things because of his legs. Mitch has done some really good things on the wall. It's been seamless in the first two games."

Fronted by a solid defensive effort, Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season and 37th of his career. The Rangers improved to 12-5-3 (27 points) after their second win in two days. They were 10-9-1 after 20 games last season.

Hagelin and Mitchell were summoned from Connecticut after Andre Deveaux was suspended for three games for an illegal check to the head of Florida's Tomas Fleischmann. The two players, who had seven goals each in 17 games with the Whale, have made their mark. Mitchell, a former Maple Leaf, assisted on Hagelin's goal and got an assist on Brian Boyle's goal in the 6-3 win in Washington.

Hagelin was a sixth-round pick by the Rangers in 2007. "He's not an 18- or 19-year-old," Mitchell said, "but he's a rookie nonetheless. I just told him to play your game and use your speed because it's your biggest asset. When our defense is taking shots from the point, just go to the net. Sure enough, he did that."

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Hagelin, whose blond hair hung from under the black Broadway hat given to the team's MVP for the game, is adjusting without much fuss. "I don't know if it's a relief," he said. "Whether I score or not . . . I just have to make sure I'm doing the right things. Today, I got a lucky bounce and it went in."

Saturday's game was the first of six meetings between the Rangers and Flyers. The teams will play in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The tone for Saturday's game was set by the Rangers' Brandon Prust in a pair of first-period fights. The first was with Zac Rinaldo just four seconds after the opening faceoff and the second was with Wayne Simmonds at 11:26 after the pair stepped out of the penalty box, where they were serving coincidental minors. Prust was named the game's third star.

"It felt not quite like the playoffs, but somewhere in between," Richards said. "We were amped up to another level with the crowd and the way it started with Prusty."

Bobrovsky played extremely well in the scoreless first period, however. Richards scored his eighth at 54 seconds of the second period on a one-timer set up by Dan Girardi with Andrej Meszaros off for elbowing.

Hagelin, meanwhile, has elbowed his way into Manhattan.

"He's won the opportunity," Richards said. "You can tell he's going to do whatever it takes to win battles and go to the net. When you have good speed, you can do a lot of things."