NHL

College star Kreider could play for Rangers in playoffs

PHILADELPHIA — The Rangers are not facing a Saturday night deadline to sign Chris Kreider in order for the Boston College junior winger to be eligible for the Stanley Cup playoffs, The Post has confirmed with multiple sources.

According to NHL By-law 28, players are eligible to play in the playoffs if they are on their respective team’s reserve list as of 3 p.m. the day of the trade deadline.

Kreider, the 19th-overall selection in the 2009 Entry Draft, was indeed on the Rangers’ reserve list as of the Feb. 27 trade deadline and thus would be eligible to play for the Blueshirts once he signs an NHL contract.

A CBC-affiliated blog on Monday erroneously reported the Rangers would have to sign Kreider by Saturday’s conclusion of the regular-season in order for him to be playoff-eligible.

That would have proved problematic, given Boston College is in the NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa this weekend, with the top-ranked Eagles’ semifinal matchup set for tomorrow night against the Minnesota Gophers. The winner of that game will play against the Ferris State-Union winner in Saturday’s final.

Rangers general manager Glen Sather told The Post on Feb. 28 he both intends and expects to sign Kreider at the conclusion of the tournament, though the winger has not yet declared his intentions.

Kreider, who turns 21 on April 30, would burn the first year of his mandatory two-year entry level contract merely by signing while the Rangers remain alive in the playoffs regardless of whether he plays a game.

The Rangers have no depth protection against injuries. John Scott, the deadline acquisition from Chicago and the only spare forward on the roster, has not played since March 9, a healthy scratch for 13 straight.

The Rangers, who clinched the Eastern Conference regular-season title with a 5-3 victory over the Flyers Tuesday night, are permitted two more recalls from the AHL Whale until Connecticut is eliminated from the AHL playoffs. Kreider’s theoretical addition would not count against that limit.

If Kreider opts against signing with the Rangers and instead returns to play his senior season at Boston College, he could become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15, 2013, according to the current collective bargaining agreement that will expire Sept. 15.

There is a possibility, if not likelihood, the rules regarding free agent eligibility and the entry level system will be more restrictive in the next labor agreement.

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The Rangers’ conference-clinching victory completed a clean 6-0 sweep of the Flyers, marking the second time the Blueshirts had swept the season-series between the clubs, also having gone 6-0 in 1971-72.

The Rangers are 30-13-5 against the Flyers since the lockout, 17-5-2 in Philadelphia (including 1-0 outdoors) and 13-8-3 at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers had finished in first place six times previously, winning division titles in 1927, 1932, 1990, 1992 and 1994 while capturing the NHL regular-season championship in 1942. The 1992 and 1994 clubs won the Presidents’ Trophy, finishing with the league’s best overall record.

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Mike Rupp did not play after taking several blows to the head during a fight at 15:08 of the first period during which he was knocked down by Jody Shelley. It is expected that John Scott will take Rupp’s spot in the lineup tomorrow night in Pittsburgh.

Martin Biron will all but certainly get the start against the Penguins after having backed up the last 10 behind Henrik Lundqvist.

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The Rangers went 3-for-6 on power play to finish the season 8-for-25 with the man advantage against the Flyers. Marian Gaborik, who has scored nine goals in his last 13 matches, scored a power-play goal for his 41st overall, one shy of his personal best.

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Ryan Callahan scored his 29th goal of the season on a five-on-three at 18:38 of the first, the two-man advantage a result of Artem Anisimov drawing two penalties while scoring a power-play goal of his own at 18:02.

Anisimov took a headman feed in stride from Dan Girardi before bursting in on the right side. He was hooked by Max Talbot (uncalled) at the blue line before being hooked by Marc-Andre Bourdon at the right doorstep before beating Ilya Bryzgalov. Anisimov was cut by a Pavel Kubina high stick after scoring the goal.

larry.brooks@nypost.com