NEW YORK, Sept. 23 -- The New York Rangers rallied in the third period for a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday, but had to be more satisfied by the impressive return of goaltender Mike Richter.
Sidelined since tearing a knee ligament last February, Richter denied former teammate Jan Hlavac on a penalty shot and made 17 saves before rookie Johan Holmqvist came on midway through the second period.
Holmqvist kept the game scoreless until Kent Manderville beat him on a shorthanded breakaway 9:11 into the third.
In between, Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek foiled defenseman Brian Leetch on a breakaway late in the second period.
With former Flyer Eric Lindros sitting out, New York tallied twice in a 3:41 stretch of the final period to pull out the win. Newcomer Zdeno Ciger tied it with 7:57 remaining, redirecting a pass by Radek Dvorak, who made an impressive move to get around defenseman Chris McAllister.
Ciger also picked up an assist on Petr Nedved's game-winner, a one-timer from the right faceoff circle with 4:16 left.
