In little over a week, the Philadelphia Flyers will host their Eastern Conference Atlantic Division rival the New York Rangers in 2012 Winter Classic, the NHL's annual outdoor game, at Citizen Bank Park. However, before the anticipated contests the two franchises will faceoff Friday night at Madison Square Garden in a preview of the post-New Year's Day contest (7 p.m. on COMCAST and NHL Network).
Up for grabs Friday are two points in the division standings, which features Philadelphia (21-8-4, 46 points) just ahead of New York (20-8-4, 44 points), and momentum heading into the holiday break.
On Nov. 26, these two rivals met at MSG for the first time this season and the Rangers came out on top 2-0. Since then, the Flyers have gone 8-1-1, while the New York is 10-3-1 in its last 14 games.
Luckily for Philadelphia, leading scorer, center Claude Giroux, seems to be fully recovered from a concussion and will play Friday. On Wednesday, Giroux returned to the ice after missing four games to tally one goal and three assists in the Fylers 4-1 victory at the Dallas Stars. The victory helped Philadelphia extend its winning streak to five games.
For more on the Winter Classic, check out SB Nation Philly's StoryStream. For more on the Flyers, visit our team page or our blog, Broad Street Hockey.