Nikolai Zherdev picked up a goal and one assist, and Michal Rozsival netted the game-winner as the New York Rangers held off a furious rally to top the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3, at the Wachovia Center.
Blair Betts and Fredrik Sjostrom also lit the lamp for the Rangers, who rode a four-goal first period to the victory. The club improved to 4-0 for the first time since starting the 1983-84 campaign with five consecutive wins.
Stephen Valiquette made 25 stops for his first win of the season.
Scott Hartnell, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards tallied for the Flyers, who have dropped three of their last four home openers. Daniel Briere picked up two helpers in the loss.
Martin Biron had a horrible start, allowing four goals on 14 shots through 16- plus minutes before his departure. Antero Niittymaki stopped all 13 shots he faced for the remainder of the contest.
"We got caught behind the eight-ball early and then we started playing our game," said Richards. "They (Rangers) got a power-play goal that went off someone and went right back door and they kind of rolled with it in the first. I thought in the second and third period we did a lot of better things and started taking over the game, just a little late."
When Rozsival netted the fourth Rangers goal of the first period -- another power-play tally -- at 16:13, Biron's night was over in favor of Niittymaki.
The Flyers came within 4-1 with 3:13 gone in the second, as Glen Metropolit won a left-circle draw back to Hartnell for a one-timer high over Valiquette's glove.
Gagne tallied his first goal of the season with 3:51 to play in the period, as he settled a loose puck in front and managed to get it past a fallen Valiquette.
After wasting a power play chance in the opening minutes of the third, Philly crept within 4-3 at 5:38. Briere cruised down the right wing and waited until the last second to dish into the crease, where Richards tipped the puck home.
Rangers forward Scott Gomez hit the crossbar on a power-play shot prior to the midway point of the period, and Richards' tip a few minutes later ringed off the left post.
The Flyers then squandered a two-man advantage and Valiquette stoned Richards from 10 feet out with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
Niittymaki was called to the bench with under a minute to go and Valiquette made two more stops down the stretch to lock up the game for New York.
"I thought it was good that we righted the ship and we got things going," said Flyers head coach John Stevens. "There are a lot of good things, I thought that Richards' line was great, really stepped up and we created some good opportunities to get back in the hockey game."
Zherdev took a rebound and netted the first goal of the contest at 4:12 just as a Rangers' man-advantage expired.
A little more than a minute later Zherdev fed Betts for a one-timer in the slot which beat Biron for a 2-0 New York lead.
Sjostrom beat Flyers defenseman Lasse Kukkonen to a dump-in behind Biron, circled the net and snuck a stuffer into an empty cage at 8:30 to put the Blueshirts ahead by three.
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