"The Eastern Conference-leading Rangers bleed black and blue, their relentless work ethic demanded by the coach but enforced by peer pressure within a locker room into and out of which the athletes march lockstep.

"The way we play so hard and the way we play so physically is our identity," Marian Gaborik said after the Blueshirts defeated the Flyers 5-2 yesterday at the Garden to stretch their Atlantic lead over Philadelphia to five points with two games in hand. "We have a team where everybody has bought into the system and we can all count one another to be there when it gets tough.

"We don't have the same kind of talent as a team like Philadelphia. We can't dipsy-doodle or go coast-to-coast. We have to battle on every shift.

"We have to play together like a machine, which we've done.""