PHILADELPHIA The Flyers' blown third-period lead cost them a win and a stay at home.

Jeff Carter, Danny Briere and the rest of the Flyers are packing their bags for Pittsburgh for the first round of the playoffs.

Sean Avery and Blair Betts scored third-period goals to rally the New York Rangers to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Sunday, spoiling Philadelphia's shot at home-ice advantage against Pittsburgh in its opening playoff series.

"We were going to have to play there at some point anyway," Briere said. "If we get to a Game 7, we'll talk it about if we get there."

The Flyers (99 points) needed only a point in the finale to secure the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home ice in the best-of-seven series with Pittsburgh. Instead, the rematch from last season's conference finals will start in Pittsburgh. The Flyers went 2-2-2 against the No. 4 seed Penguins.

"I think this group has always found a way to do it the hard way, but they have always found a way to do it," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "It's an exciting matchup with great young players on both teams and great stories throughout the year on both teams."