OVERTIME

Flyers 3

Rangers 2

PHILADELPHIA – An absolutely astonishing penalty-shot call defeated the Rangers here last night.

With 36.7 seconds to go, referee Kevin Pollock awarded the shot to the Flyers’ Michal Handzus after a debatable hook by Tom Poti. Handzus then beat Dan Blackburn on the backhand to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory.

For the Rangers, it dampened the return of Bobby Holik.

For after returning from an 18-game absence induced by a hip-flexor that had made him a shadow of himself in his first 10 matches in a Blueshirt, Holik played a major role in last night’s games that sends the team into tonight’s Garden match against the Sabres.

Following the morning skate, Holik had talked about what he would expect – if not demand – of himself in his first game since Oct. 26.

“I have to play my game. I have to finish my checks, I have to be a physical force,” No. 16 said. “Whether it was because of my hip or not, it doesn’t matter, but I definitely was not myself the first 10 games I played. I know what my game is. I’m ready to go.

“There cannot be any excuses for me.”

Holik needed no excuses whatsoever. Indeed, he was the very same No. 16 the Flyers had come to know and loathe during 10 years of high-stakes battles against the Devils.

Opening the game between Rem Murray and Mikael Samuelsson, Holik threw his body around at every opportunity, and annoyed the Flyers by going to the net for an extra swipe or two at goaltender Roman Cechmanek whenever the puck neared the crease. But he was matched against the Philadelphia third line centered by Handzus while Petr Nedved skated against Jeremy Roenick’s unit and Mark Messier went against Keith Primeau, the latter a matchup that placed the Rangers at a distinct disadvantage.

But Bryan Trottier shifted his line combinations and matches midway through the second. And when he did, he had moved Eric Lindros from Messier’s left side to Holik’s right, and he had adjusted his matches so that Holik went straight up against the 6-5 Primeau, who for some reason didn’t seem so anxious to be as physical as he’d been in the first period. It was the perfect adjustment by Trottier, an astute move worthy of note.

Holik not only was a physical force, he was one on the scoresheet, as well, in the near terminally boring contest. The Flyers had ended a seven-period home scoring drought at 2:02 of the second when Mark Recchi somehow slipped a extreme angle shot from the right goal line through Blackburn’s pads.

But Holik tied it at 7:40 pouncing on a long rebound in the slot to beat the goaltender up high. And then, after Roenick went top shelf on Blackburn at 15:32 to provide the Flyers with their second lead of the period, Holik gained the zone before flicking a nifty backhand feed to Lindros, who blasted a 40-footer past Cechmanek from the right side to even the score at the 18:00 mark.