Rangers become 1st NHL team to clinch playoff berth, beat Flyers 6-5 on Fox's quick goal in OT

NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Fox scored 36 seconds into overtime and the New York Rangers became the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot this season, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-5 following a wild third period Tuesday night.

Alexis Lafreniere had two goals and Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for the Rangers, who lead the league with 100 points after giving coach Peter Laviolette his 800th career win.

New York technically secured its third consecutive playoff berth just by getting to overtime and earning one point after Detroit lost to Washington in OT. But after the teams traded seven goals in a frenetic third period, it didn't take long for Fox to finish the night in style with a pinpoint wrist shot from the high slot for his 15th goal, adding to the star defenseman's career high.

“For us to stay as consistent as we have says a lot about our group,’’ said Fox, who has points in eight straight games. "It’s big for us to clinch that playoff spot. It’s just the first step.”

Philadelphia Flyers' Samuel Ersson lies on the ice after making a save against the New York Rangers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and Jonny Brodzinski also scored for the Rangers, who extended their Metropolitan Division lead to three points over Carolina, which lost 4-1 at Pittsburgh. Trocheck also had two assists.

“I thought we battled hard. We knew this would be a tough game,'' Zibanejad said. "I thought we got better as the game went on. We kept fighting.”

Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling scored second-period goals to put the Flyers up 2-0 before Zibanejad narrowed the deficit with his 100th career power-play goal at 15:28.

Brodzinski and Lafreniere scored early in the third to put New York ahead 3-2 before Travis Konecny tied it 3-all with his team-leading 31st goal at 6:45.

Trocheck scored short-handed at 9:34 off a sweet pass from Zibanejad to put the Rangers ahead 4-3, but Owen Tippett tied it again at 11:45 before Lafreniere scored his second of the game and 22nd of the season at 13:59. Flyers forward Tyson Foerster then evened the score yet again at 16:29 with his 19th goal to send the game into overtime.

“I liked the game for the most part. I thought we played very well,'' Laughton said. ”I thought we were in control of it and should have gotten two points. We're in this game to win and we didn't get on the right side of it tonight."

New York Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin (58) attempts to clear the puck during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York won its third straight game and fifth in six overall to improve to 26-9-0 at home. The team is 17-1-1 when Lafreniere, the top pick in the 2020 draft, scores a goal.

“We found a way to win, that's all that matters,'' Lafreniere said. ”There's still a lot of work to do and we know that. We have a lot of hockey to play still. We have to stay focused."

Artemi Panarin’s assist on Zibanejad’s goal was his 100th point of the season, making him the seventh player in Rangers history — and first since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06 — to reach the milestone. Panarin, who added two more assists, has points in 57 of New York’s 72 games this season.

"He’s an unbelievable player,’’ Zibanejad said of Panarin, his teammate for five seasons. “I’m super happy for him.”

Third-place Philadelphia has nine games remaining and will play five of its last seven against division opponents, including the Rangers again in New York on April 11.

“I feel like we did a good job grabbing a point tonight,'' said Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson, who is 21-14-7 in his rookie season. ”Great attribute to have as a team, to never give up. I think we showed that tonight."

Rangers defenseman Brandon Scanlin made his NHL debut in place of injured Erik Gustafsson.

New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) and Chad Ruhwedel (5) celebrate with Adam Fox after Fox scored against the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York captain Jacob Trouba has missed 10 straight games with a lower-body injury, while fellow defenseman Ryan Lindgren missed his fourth in a row with a lower-body injury. Rangers center Alex Wennberg, whose wife is pregnant, was a late scratch for personal reasons and was replaced by Brodzinski.

“What I liked was the fight in our guys,'' said the 59-year-old Laviolette, who is the seventh coach in NHL history to reach 800 wins and is in his first season coaching the Rangers. ”I like the fact that we were resilient."

UP NEXT

Rangers: Visit the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Flyers: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim shoots during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere (13) scores against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller (79) and Philadelphia Flyers right wing Travis Konecny (11) chase the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad (93) and Philadelphia Flyers' Morgan Frost, wait for the puck drop on a faceoff during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) and Mika Zibanejad celebrate Trocheck's goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period of an NHL hockey game TTuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers celebrate a goal by Mika Zibanejad, obscured at center, as Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Sanheim (6) looks at the scoreboard during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) scores against Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson (33) during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

New York Rangers players gather on the ice after Adam Fox's overtime goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's the largest prosecution in Justice Department history — with reams of evidence, harrowing videos and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Now Donald Trump's return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.

Jan. 6 trials, guilty pleas and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington's federal court despite Trump's promise to pardon rioters, whom he has called “political prisoners" and “hostages” he contends were treated too harshly.

Here's a look at where the prosecutions stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot and what could happen next:

More than 1,500 people across the U.S. have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly riot. Hundreds of people who did not engage in destruction or violence were charged only with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol illegally. Others were charged with felony offenses, including assault for beating police officers. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump, a Republican, to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

About 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant. At least 1,020 others had pleaded guilty as of Jan. 1.

More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars. The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention or fines.

The longest sentence, 22 years, went to former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with three lieutenants. A California man with a history of political violence got 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the riot. And Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and other offenses.

More than 100 Jan. 6 defendants are scheduled to stand trial in 2025, while at least 168 riot defendants are set to be sentenced this year.

Authorities have continued making new arrests since Trump's election victory. That includes people accused of assaulting police officers who were defending the Capitol.

Citing Trump's promise of pardons, several defendants have sought to have their cases delayed — with little success.

In denying one such request, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, wrote: "This Court recently had the occasion to discuss what effect the speculative possibility of a presidential pardon has on the timetable for a pending criminal matter. In short: little to none."

One defendant who convinced a judge to postpone his trial, William Pope, told the court that the “American people gave President Trump a mandate to carry out the agenda he campaigned on, which includes ending the January 6 prosecutions and pardoning those who exercised First Amendment rights at the Capitol.” Pope has now asked the judge to allow him to travel to Washington to attend Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

Trump embraced the Jan. 6 rioters on the campaign trial, downplaying the violence that was broadcast on live TV and has been documented extensively through video, testimony and other evidence in the federal cases.

Trump has vowed to begin issuing pardons of Jan. 6 rioters on his first day in office. He has said he will look at individuals on a case-by-case basis, but he has not explained how he will decide who receives such relief.

He has said there may be “some exceptions" — if “somebody was radical, crazy." But he has not ruled out pardons for people convicted of serious crimes, like assaulting police officers. When confronted in a recent NBC News interview about the dozens of people who have pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, Trump responded: “Because they had no choice."

Many judges in Washington's federal court have condemned the depiction of the rioters as “political prisoners," and some have raised alarm about the potential pardons.

"No matter what ultimately becomes of the Capital Riots cases already concluded and still pending, the true story of what happened on January 6, 2021 will never change," Judge Lamberth recently said in a statement when handing down a sentence.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, has said it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if Trump hands out mass pardons to rioters.

In another case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta alluded to the prospect of a pardon for Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy.

“The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country,” said Mehta, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Follow the AP's coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at https://apnews.com/hub/capitol-siege.

FILE - Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump, including Kevin Seefried, center, holding a Confederate battle flag, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - Supporters of President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - A flag hangs between broken windows after then-President Donald Trump supporters tried to break through police barriers outside the U.S. Capitol, Jan 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE - Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)