PHILADELPHIA -- Wayne Simmonds scored three goals and Steve Mason stopped 34 shots to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, forcing a decisive Game 7 of their Eastern Conference playoff series. Theres little time for rest, too. The Flyers and Rangers play again Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Simmonds scored in the first period and twice more in the second for his first career post-season hat trick. Mason survived a busy first period and stopping 31 straight shots until Carl Hagelin scored late in the third. Mats Zuccarello also scored for New York in the final minute. By the third, Simmonds had already helped stake the Flyers to a 4-0 lead and the outcome was a mere formality. Erik Gustafsson also scored and Claude Giroux had an empty-netter for the Flyers, who will try for a second win in New York this series. Simmonds, a 28-goal scorer who had one in the first five games, completed the hat trick with 4:41 left in the second. With a short turnaround, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was yanked for Cam Talbot to open the third period. Lundqvist stopped 19 of 23 shots. He couldnt stop Simmonds. Simmonds camped out in the dirty area, in front of the crease, and pounded home three short goals that had Flyers fans going wild. On the brink of elimination, about the only thing that could slow down the Flyers were their fans -- the game was delayed for a lengthy cleanup after they littered the ice with hats. Someone even threw a shoe. Outplayed for most of the series, the Flyers were lucky to escape the first period with a 1-0 lead. They were careless with the puck in their own zone and had nine turnovers, which led to a ton of work for Mason, who made 13 saves in the period. Simmonds put Philadelphia in front with his third hack at a rebound on a power play. Across the street, the rain-delayed Philadelphia Phillies rang the home run Liberty Bell in celebration of the goal. Simmonds, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound forward, was just warming up. Brayden Schenn stripped New Yorks Dan Girardi of the puck, and then lost control in front of the crease. Simmonds was perfectly positioned off to Lundqvists right side and pounded in the trickling puck for a 2-0 lead just 1:32 into the second. Simmonds again was just outside the crease to knock in his third goal late in the second for the 4-0 lead. After a sloppy first, the puck just seemed to bounce Philadelphias way. Gustafsson, who did not play the first five games, came storming out of the penalty box in the second period, his stick hit the puck in a flash and he scored for a 3-0 lead. "It was a lot of fun when I saw the puck come down to me," he said. "I think it took a fortunate bounce. I almost thought Lundqvist was going to get it, but luckily the puck went in." Mason, who had never won a post-season game until this season, was hardly challenged in the last two periods as he chased the shutout. He snared Benoit Pouliots point-blank shot in the second period and made an out-of-nowhere kick save against John Moore in the third to keep the comfortable lead. The Rangers had scored four goals in three other games this series. New York is 13-2 in series it has led 3-2, but the Rangers have lost 12 straight games in which they had a series lead. NOTES: Flyers D Nicklas Grossmann underwent surgery to repair tendon damage in his right ankle suffered in Game 4. He could miss up to 10 weeks. ... Simmonds gave the Flyers their first two-goal lead of the series since his empty-net goal in the final minute sealed the win in Game 2. ... The Flyers beat the Rangers 4-3 on May 5, 1974, in the only other time the teams played a Game 7. They went on to beat Boston to win their first Stanley Cup. Stan Smith Uomo Saldi .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Stan Smith Outlet Italia . "There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization. Im not coming in here to rip things apart," Nicholson told reporters Friday. "I know what Hockey Canada was when I started, and I know where this (Oilers) organization is today. http://www.stansmithscontate.it/ . The veteran fighter will be squaring off with Henderson in a five-round lightweight bout as part of another network televised card at the United Center on Saturday night. Stan Smith Scontate .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. Scarpe Stan Smith Scontate . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Hornets have placed the teams future personnel decisions in the hands of Rich Cho after Rod Higgins has stepped down as the teams president of basketball operations on Friday. Higgins had been with the team for the last seven years. Hornets owner Michael Jordan thanked Higgins in a statement. "Rod has been a consummate professional throughout his time with the team," Jordan said. "Thanks to his hard work and commitment, we have an improved roster and we are poised for success in the future. Rod was of great help to me as I navigated my first four years as majority owner of this franchise. I wish him all the best." Cho will remain in his capacity as general manager and assume responsibility for the teams basketball operations, according to a press release issued by the team. Cho will report to Jordan and vice chairman Curtis Polk. Cho declined comment through team spokesman Mike Cristaldi. The move comes two weeks before the NBA draft and what is expected to be a busy off-season for the Hornets. The Hornets have the ninth, 24th and 45th overall picks and more than $13 million to spend under the salary cap. Jordan has already said the team hopes to make a "big difference" in upgrading the roster this off-season. Higgins declined comment on the matter via text message to The Associated Press. Coach Steve Clifford, entering his second season with the Hornets, said he had a great working relationship with Higgins. "He helped me a lot -- helped our staff a lot.dddddddddddd. He is a terrific basketball guy and a great person, and were going to miss him," Clifford said. "With that being said, you know change is a big part of this league. We need to quickly focus and move forward and continue to build the right culture, roster, so we can be a good team year in and year out." When Jordan took over as part owner in Charlotte in 2006, Higgins was one of his first hires the following year. Hes long been one of Jordans most trusted friends. Jordan was a rookie in the 1984 when he joined the Chicago Bulls and became teammates with Higgins, a veteran forward at the time. After a 13-year NBA career, Higgins went on to work with Jordan as an assistant general manager with the Washington Wizards. Higgins later left the Wizards to become general manager of the Golden State Warriors before joining Jordan again in Charlotte. Cho was hired by Jordan in 2011 as Charlottes new general manager and Higgins title became president of basketball operations. From that time, the two shared player personnel duties and regularly appeared together and press conference to discuss personnel moves with the media. Clifford said hes confident Cho will do a great job moving forward. "Rich is very organized, on top of things," Clifford said. "I know well be prepared, we will be prepared for the draft, for free agency and you know just like we have in the past. I dont see that part being an adjustment at all. Weve been working together for a year." Wholesale HoodiesNFL Shirts OutletJerseys NFL WholesaleCheap NFL Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale Jerseys CheapCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale JerseysWholesale NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '