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(Sports Network) - The fifth edition of the NHLs Winter Classic is on tap today, as the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangers outdoors at Citizens Bank Park. cheap china jerseys . This marks the first year that the Winter Classic, which began in Buffalo in 2008, will not take place on New Years Day. The NHL decided to schedule the contest a day later due to January 1 being an NFL Sunday. The Flyers will be playing in their second Winter Classic and first as host, while the Rangers are making their debut in the outdoor game. Philadelphia previously played Boston at Fenway Park in 2010 and lost a 2-1 overtime decision to the Bruins. Todays event was originally scheduled for 1 p.m. (et), but the start time was pushed back to 3:00 due to weather concerns. The league issued a statement on Sunday saying the switch was "based on tomorrows weather forecast and should offer optimal game conditions for players and fans." Still, the weather is not expected to be as big a factor a it was last year, when Washington beat the Penguins at a warm and rainy Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Instead, todays forecast at the home of Major League Baseballs Philadelphia Phillies calls for temperatures in the low-40s with a low probability of precipitation. Last years contest was delayed several hours, but the temperature was still in the 50s when the game finally got underway after 8:00 p.m. This years Classic is also the second one to pit divisional opponents against each other. Chicago and Detroit -- both members of the Central Division -- played at Wrigley Field in 2009. The Rangers enter today leading the Atlantic Division with 50 points and Philadelphia is just two behind in second place. New York has won a pair of home tests against the Flyers this year, giving the Blueshirts four consecutive wins in the series. Philadelphia had won four straight on home ice versus the Rangers before New York notched a 3-2 shootout win on April 3 of last season. Rangers head coach John Tortorella announced before the game the Marc Staal will make his season debut at the outdoor game after recovering from a concussion. The Flyers recently ended a five-game road trip and are playing in Philadelphia for the first time since Dec. 17. Entering today, Philly has played 11 of its last 14 games away from the City of Brotherly Love. "To be here in Philly with our fans is certainly the place you would rather be. We miss them. We have been away for the whole month of December it seems, so its good to get back here and get a game in this environment," Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette said after Sundays practice at Citizens Bank Park. Both the Rangers and Flyers are coming off wins, but New York has been playing better hockey than Philly of late. The Blueshirts have won six of their last seven contests, while the Flyers have four losses in their last six games, including a 4-2 setback against the Rangers on Dec. 23. New York had a five-game winning streak halted Wednesday in Washington, but the Rangers rebounded with a 4-1 road victory Friday against the Florida Panthers. Brad Richards and Carl Hagelin each scored once and recorded an assist to lead the Rangers past the Panthers. Michael Del Zotto and Brandon Dubinsky also tallied for New York, while Henrik Lundqvist turned away 27 of the 28 shots he faced. "Tonight we had a great start and scored on pretty much every shot we took," Lundqvist said. "After that its about playing smart and taking care of pucks, and not trying to much because we dont have to." Lundqvist will get the start in net for New York today, but the Flyers are expected to go with backup Sergei Bobrovsky over the highly-paid Ilya Bryzgalov for a second straight game. Bobrovsky has clearly been the better goaltender of late, winning five of his last six decisions, while Bryzgalov is 0-3-1 in his last four starts and has allowed 16 goals over that stretch. Bryzgalov, who was signed to a nine-year, $51 million contract in the offseason, is 14-8-3 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in his first year with the Flyers. Bobrovsky is 8-2-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .914 save percentage. Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots on Thursday to help Philadelphia record a 4-2 win in Pittsburgh. Ex-Penguins Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot both scored against their former team to help the Flyers down their division rival. Jagr had a storied career in Pittsburgh as he played there from 1990 through 2001. Talbot had spent his first six seasons in the Steel City before signing with the Flyers as a free agent this summer. "It was a big game and personally it was nice for me and Jags to get the goal, but more importantly is that we got the two points against a team were going to be fighting for a playoff spot," said Talbot, who played in the Winter Classic last year for the Penguins. cheap nfl jerseys . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. cheap jerseys from china . Sean Monahan scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Flames snapped a two-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Oilers in a game between two of the NHLs current lesser lights.Canadas Patrick Chan has drawn the 21st spot for Thursdays mens figure skating short program at the Sochi Olympics. Its an advantageous draw for Torontos Chan, as skaters prefer not to go early in the 30-man event. Chan is a three-time world champion and has already won a silver medal at these Olympics in the team figure skating event. Four-time Olympic medallist Evgeni Plushenko drew the seventh spot, while medal favourites Yuzuru Hanyu oof Japan and Spains Javier Fernandez drew 19th and 20th respectively. cheap jerseys. . Plushenko helped Russia to the team gold by finishing second to Hanyu in the short program of the new competition, then winning the free skate. He won the 2006 gold medal and also has silvers from 2002 and 2010. Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, the 2010 bronze medallist , will be 29th, followed by countryman Tatsuko Machida to round out the field. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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