Jason Akeson had nowhere to hide.
There might as well have been klieg lights blaring down on him in the penalty box, where he sat helplessly in the third period while a critical playoff game changed Thursday night at the Garden.
It was right around the time the Rangers were hammering home the first of two power-play goals they scored to turn a 1-1 game into a 4-1 Eastern Conference Game 1 playoff rout of Philadelphia when the Flyers’ 23-year-old winger probably wished he was back in the obscurity of upstate New York, where he was playing minor league hockey with the Adirondack Phantoms only weeks ago in Glens Falls.
It was an Akeson double-minor penalty for high-sticking Rangers left wing Carl Hagelin, drawing blood on his lip, at 7:35 of the third period that changed the early complexion of the series and led to the Rangers taking a 1-0 series lead entering Sunday’s noon Game 2 at the Garden.
The game was tied at 1-1 at the time. Forty-seven seconds into the four-minute Akeson penalty, Brad Richards gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Forty-seven seconds after the Richards goal, Derek Stepan scored to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead.
Only then was Akeson released from the penalty box.
“I was trying to hit the guy and my stick got up there; I didn’t mean to do it,’’ Akeson said. “It was a tough penalty to take.’’
Asked what went through his mind sitting in the penalty box watching the game swing the Rangers’ way, he said: “Nothing good, that’s for sure.’’
When Akeson returned to the bench, Flyers veteran Wayne Simmonds approached him and told him to have a “short memory.’’
“You have to have a short memory in this game,’’ Simmonds said. “You dwell on things and they will eat at you and they don’t allow you to play your best.’’
Said Akeson of his teammates: “They were all good to me. They had my back.’’
A week ago, Akeson had played in only one career NHL game and had never even been to New York City.
The Flyers brought him up from the minors for their final regular-season game last week and he only found out he would be making his playoff debut when Flyers coach Craig Berube informed him on Wednesday.
Before the Flyers brought him up, the only other NHL game he had played was in last season’s finale against the Senators, which was a bone thrown his way because he’s an Ottawa native.
There was a recent airline ad campaign that asked: “Ever wish you were somewhere else?’’
On Thursday night, Akeson did.