Flyers – Rangers rivalry The New York Rangers - Philadelphia Flyers rivalry ( also commonly referred to as the Battle of the Broads or Broadway versus Broad Street ) is one of the most storied and well known rivalries ever in the National Hockey League . The rivalry is one of the Atlantic Division rivalries . The two teams have met in both the regular season and during the Stanley Cup playoffs . Although the Rangers seems to have more success in the regular season , the Flyers have had more success over the Rangers in the playoffs . Playoff battles . 1970s . They have met ten times in Stanley Cup playoff contention , with the Flyers winning six of the series , and they have been division rivals since the season . On their way to a Stanley Cup title 1974 , the Flyers eliminated the Rangers in the 1974 Semifinals . The series went 7 games , with the Rangers sealing their own fate , taking a too - many - men penalty in the waning moments of the game while trying to replace the goaltender with an extra attacker . The home team won all 7 games of the series . The Rangers defeated the Flyers in 5 games in the 1979 Quarter Finals on their way to a Stanley Cup Finals berth ; the Flyers did the same to New York in 1980 Quarterfinals . During this period , Fred Shero coached the Flyers to back - to - back Stanley Cups in and and the Rangers to the 1979 Finals . 1980s . During the 1980s , the two teams met in the Patrick Division Semifinals 5 out of 6 seasons . Beginning in 1982 Patrick Divison Semi Finals , the Rangers defeated the Flyers in 4 games , then swept them in three straight in . In , the Flyers returned the favor by sweeping the Rangers , but in , the Rangers did revenge , eliminating the Flyers in 5 . In , the first round format was expanded to best - of - seven , and the Flyers eliminated the Rangers in 6 . Both times the Flyers eliminated the Rangers , they reached the Stanley Cup Finals , but lost to the Edmonton Oilers . The coach of the Flyers when they went to the Finals during this period , Mike Keenan , coached the Rangers to the Finals in 1994 ( most recent finals appearance ) and coached in Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals with both teams . 1990s . The Flyers and Rangers renewed their playoff rivalry once more when the two teams met in the playoffs in and , both series won by the Flyers . The first series was bitter for the Rangers — the Flyers ' four - game sweep eliminated the defending Cup champions in the Eastern Conference Semifinals . Many Flyers fans remember this for the second game the Flyers won in overtime . Kevin Haller scored , sending normally laid - back Flyers color analyst Gary Dornhoefer into a frenzy . The latter series was the Eastern Conference Finals that sent the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals , where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings , who won their first championship since . With a 4 - 1 series win , it marked the last time the Rangers would make the playoffs until and it later turned out to be both Wayne Gretzky ' s and Mark Messier ' s last playoff game . 21st Century . : Shootout Victory Begins Flyers ' Cinderella run to Stanley Cup Finals . The Flyers ' Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals , where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks , who won their first championship since in six games , began on the final day of the regular season when they met the Rangers in a winner - take - all match - up for the final playoff spot . Philadelphia beat the Rangers 2 - 1 in a historic shootout , the first do or die shootout for a playoff spot in NHL history . With the win , the Flyers eliminated the Rangers from the playoffs . The first time the two teams meet , on November 4 at Wells Fargo Center , will revive the shootout to determine a playoff spot . The Rangers will get reminders of that shootout loss that eliminiated them from the playoffs when they see a banner a top of the rafters , saying " Philadelphia Flyers , 2009 - 10 Eastern Conference Champions . " The Flyers raised that banner to the rafters before their home opener on October 11 . Causes . The rivalry stems and attributes to two factors . Both teams are in the same division and the two cities are approximately two hours apart by car either on the New Jersey Turnpike or I - 95 . The Rangers ' fanbase comes from the New York metropolitan area , which includes southern Connecticut , and northern and central New Jersey as well as parts of upstate New York . Conversely , the Flyers ' fanbase generally draws from the Delaware Valley ( the Philadelphia metropolitan area ) , which includes Southeastern Pennsylvania , central New Jersey south of Princeton , southern New Jersey , northern Delaware and extreme parts of northeast Maryland . The New York – Philadelphia rivalry is evident in other sports ( for example , the rivalries between the Mets – Phillies rivalry of Major League Baseball , the Eagles – Giants rivalry of the National Football League , and the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association . )