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The Philadelphia Flyers will try to get by without their No. 1 goaltender when they visit the New York Rangers on Thursday for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Flyers announced Wednesday that Steve Mason will not suit up for the opener of this best-of-seven series. Ray Emery will get the start instead and Cal Heeter, who made his NHL debut Sunday in a loss to Carolina, will serve as the backup. Watch the game on TSN and TSN GO at 7pm et/4pm pt. In 36 career playoff games, Emery is 20-15 with a 2.57 goals-against average, .903 save percentage and three shutouts. He led Ottawa to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but hasnt seen action in the postseason since playing for Anaheim in 2011. Emery was the backup to Corey Crawford in Chicagos run to a Stanley Cup title last spring, but didnt get into a game. "I get excited to play in these situations, especially the playoffs, especially with a group like this," Emery said. Of course, Henrik Lundqvist will be the goaltender across the rink from Emery. The Rangers undisputed No. 1 netminder had another solid campaign in 2013-14, setting club records for regular season wins and shutouts along the way. Although the 32-year-old Swede was 33-24-5 with a 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage it still was a down season by Lundqvists lofty standards. His GAA was the highest its been since Lundqvist posted a 2.38 in 2009-10 and the netminders save percentage was his worst effort since finishing the 2008-09 campaign at .916. New York only has made it out of the second round once since Lundqvist took over the starting role in 2005-06, but its hardly been his fault. In 67 playoff games, Lundqvist has posted a 2.28 GAA and .920 save percentage. The Flyers and Rangers have been divisional rivals for decades, but this series marks the first playoff meeting between the clubs since 1997 when Philadelphia downed New York in five games for the Eastern Conference title. Overall, Philadelphia has won six of the 10 playoff series between the franchises and has claimed three straight and four of the past five encounters. The Flyers and Rangers split four meetings in 2013-14, with each team winning twice at its home arena. New Yorks home-ice advantage could loom large in this series, as the Blueshirts have claimed eight in a row at home against the Flyers, who last won at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 20, 2011. The Rangers finished second in the Metropolitan Division and two points ahead of Philadelphia to capture home ice in this series. Flyers captain and star centerman Claude Giroux only managed two assists in the four meetings with the Rangers this season and thats certainly not a good sign for Philadelphia. Forward Matt Read and defenseman Mark Streit were the best offensive players for the Flyers in the season series, posting one goal and two assists apiece. Meanwhile, New Yorks best weapon against the Flyers this season was speedy forward Chris Kreider, who had two goals and two assists in three games against Philly but does not expect to play in this set. Brad Richards had one goal and two assists over four games, while Rick Nash had a goal and an assist in three outings. Lundqvist went 2-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA against the Flyers this season. Emery did not face New York this season, but is 7-2-0 with a 1.87 GAA in 10 career regular-season games against the Blueshirts. One concern for New York heading into the opening round is the health of No. 1 defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who sat out the last five games of the regular season with a bruised left shoulder. Although McDonagh expects to play in Game 1, it will be interesting to see how his shoulder holds up against the postseason grind. McDonagh led New Yorks blue line this season in goals (14), assists (29), plus-minus (plus-11), penalty minutes (36) and shots (177). He also led the club with an average ice time of 24 minutes, 59 seconds and finished fifth on the teams overall scoring list with 43 points. Rangers forward Derick Brassard left practice on Tuesday with a back issue, but expects to play tonight. Brassard was fourth on the team this season with 45 points off 18 goals and 27 assists. Philadelphias Steve Downie is out with an upper-body injury, but fellow forward Zac Rinaldo could play Thursday after completing a four-game suspension. Rinaldo received the ban for delivering a head shot against Buffalo defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on April 6. New York will host the second tilt of this series on Sunday before the venue shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4. The Rangers were 20-17-4 as the home club this season, while Philly was 18-16-7 as the guest. Projected Rangers lines Nash - Stepan - St. LouisPouliot - Brassard - ZuccarelloHagelin - Richards - FastBoyle - Moore - Dorsett McDonagh - GirardiStaal - StralmanMoore - Klein Lundqvist - Talbot Projected Flyers lines Hartnell - Giroux - VoracekRaffl - Schenn - SimmondsRead - Couturier - AkesonRinaldo - Lecavalier - Hall Timonen - CoburnStreit - GrossmannMacDonald - Schenn Emery - Heeter Paul George Shoes Outlet . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory. Clearance Paul George Shoes . Berdych and Stepanek played all five matches when the Czechs beat Spain 3-2 in the final last November in Prague to win the countrys first title as an independent nation. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . He says he will have the operation Wednesday and be ready in time for training camp in September. Bernier missed five games in March due to the injury. Paul George Shoes From China . Louis Blues are reportedly taking restricted free agent forward Vladimir Sobotka to arbitration. Paul George Shoes Deals . Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- If this was the last swing of the season at Kauffman Stadium, it was one to savour. Justin Maxwell ended the Kansas City Royals home season with a two-out grand slam in the 10th inning Sunday for a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of AL playoff contenders. "I kind of blacked out after I looked at Gordo (Alex Gordon) over there going crazy," Maxwell said. "I just saw the excitement in all my teammates eyes. I couldnt wait to get around the bases and to home plate." The Oakland Athletics clinched the AL West with the Rangers loss. Texas dropped 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the second wild-card spot. Kansas City is 3 1/2 back. Maxwell connected off former Royals All-Star closer Joakim Soria. "Ive never faced him before," Maxwell said. "With a 3-2 count, bases loaded, two out, I was just looking for a fastball strike and I got one. I didnt try to do really do too much. Paralysis by analysis. I try to dumb it down and try to hit the ball hard." Soria knew he couldnt afford to throw a borderline pitch and have the winning run score on a walk. "I had to throw a strike in that situation, and it couldnt be close," Soria said. Royals starter James Shields gave up six hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out two. Texas starter Alexi Ogando pitched two-hit ball for seven innings, striking out five and walking one. Eric Hosmer led off the Royals 10th by punching a double with two strikes down the left-field line off Neal Cotts (5-3). Soria relieved and intentionally walked Billy Butler, and an infield single by Salvador Perez loaded the bases. Mike Moustakas popped up and pinch-hitter George Kottaras grounded into a force play at the plate before Maxwells grand slam. Tim Collins (3-6) worked a perfect 10th to pick up the victory. Ogando, who had three stints on the disabled list this season, excelled in just his eighth start since May 15. He left after 77 pitches. "I thought overall it went very well," Ogando said through a translator. "I was really able to locate my pitches and able to throw them for strikes. You know whats going to happen if you can throw strikes where you want and be able to be aggressive with your pitches." Maxwell hit a leadoff single in the third and moved up on a sacrifice, making him the lone Royals runner to get past first base off Ogando. Shields, who was 4-1 in his previous fiive starts, lowered his ERA to 3.dddddddddddd.21. He was struck in the right elbow by David Murphys liner in the second, but remained in the game after making some warmup tosses as manager Ned Yost watched from the mound. "You can probably see the big bump in my elbow," Shields said. "I had a hard time feeling the baseball the whole rest of the game. Its just one of those games, one of those moments where I wasnt coming out of the game. I told Skip I wasnt hurting. I wasnt necessarily feeling good, but I felt fine to go back out. It was kind of tightening up between every inning. "Ogando pitched his heart out and it was just fortunate we got the win. The fans were unbelievable. It was electric in the stadium as Ive ever seen it. They were into every single pitch," he said. Shields allowed two-out singles to Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus before getting out of the inning. Royals closer Greg Holland took over in the ninth. Alex Rios made it to first when he struck out on a wild pitch to lead off the inning and stole second. But Rios was thrown out trying to take third on Adrian Beltres fly to left, with Gordon getting his AL-leading 16th outfield assist. "Rios was trying to make something happen, which you cant blame him," Gordon said. "I was just trying to make the play, keep the score zero-zero and help Greg out. Alex Rios is a long strider, very fast, so I had to make a good throw. Thats what I planned to do. I didnt do much all day, but that was key." Perez helped out Shields by throwing would-be basestealers Andrus at third base in the first and Leonys Martin at second in the fifth. "Stealing third is easier than stealing second for me," Andrus said. "He throws well. I took my chances. That kid Perez is amazing. Its pretty tough the way they play defence. You have to tip your cap." NOTES: The Royals final home attendance was 1,750,754, an average of 21,614 for 81 games. The Royals averaged 21,748 for 80 home dates last year. ... The Rangers play their final seven games at home. LHP Derek Holland, who starts Monday against Houston, has lost five straight decisions at Rangers Ballpark since May 31. He is winless in his past eight starts, the longest drought of his career. ... The Royals, who finish up with seven games at Seattle and Chicago, are 38-36 on the road. They have not finished above .500 on the road since going 43-39 in 2003. ' ' '