It was like old times at Madison Square Garden. For the first time in almost 20 years, Sam Rosen and John Davidson were back together in the broadcast booth calling a Rangers game.

The final act took place thanks to the NHL On TNT. Knowing it was Rosen’s swan song after 40 years calling New York Rangers hockey, the network executives decided to have Sam and JD reunite for a nationally televised game on Wednesday, Apr. 9. For 20 years, they supplied Rangers fans with so much hockey knowledge and sarcasm that was always dripping through the TV set.

You wouldn’t have known that they hadn’t done a game together since Apr. 29, 2006. As usual, they played off each other so well. You had Rosen setting things up for Davidson who supplied the color commentary with the same unique style that made him the best in the business. The Hall of Fame duo called the action just the way you remembered it. Sam and JD once again made you feel like you were there. The way they delivered it had that next door neighbor appeal, as if two old friends were back in town to greet you after not seeing them in quite some time.

Even on a night when the Rangers continued to commit folly after folly en route to an ugly 8-5 loss to the Flyers that sealed their playoff fate, it didn’t matter. For once, it wasn’t about the mistakes they made that have been all too common in a lost season. It was all about hearing Rosen on the call with Davidson there to chime in. They always did it with class. If the opponent picked up their game like the Flyers did in the second and third period to come back and earn the win, they sang their praises.

In this one, it took a high scoring third period to change the script. The old school rivals were dead even at two after two periods. Vincent Trocheck’s shorthanded goal had the Blueshirts on top in a strong opening period that also saw Mika Zibanejad miss wide on a penalty shot. Following his miss, Rosen said, “That’s been the story of his season,” to Davidson. Despite finishing with four assists, Zibanejad remained stuck on 17 goals with four games left in the season. He hasn’t scored fewer than 20 since 2016-17 when he notched 14 in 56 games.

In the second period, Tyson Foerster got the scoring started for the Flyers when he fired home his 20th. It was a harbinger of things to come. Later in the period, with the game still tied, the Rangers continued to struggle on the power play. Having already given up a breakaway with a shot hitting the goalpost, this time they allowed Garnet Hathaway to score shorthanded to put the Flyers ahead 2-1. His shot trickled through backup Jonathan Quick.

Less than two minutes later, Panarin scored his team-leading 35th goal. After picking up a Zibanejad drop pass, Panarin made a nice move, cut towards the net and went to the backhand to beat Flyers rookie Aleksei Kolosov with 1:28 remaining. It was the 300th goal of his career.

The teams were tied at two headed to the third. Nobody could have predicted what happened next.

In what became a wide-open game minus any semblance of team defense, the teams combined for nine goals with the Flyers outscoring the Rangers 6-3. Travis Sanheim put in a loose rebound of a Noah Cates shot after Quick made an acrobatic save on to put the Flyers back in front. Sanheim beat rookie Brennan Othmann to the spot for his eighth.

However, the Rangers responded quickly to tie up the score again. After taking a pass from Urho Vaakanainen, Jonny Brodzinski fired a wrist shot from a sharp angle past a screened Kolosov for his career best 11th of the season. Brodzinski’s been one of the few bright spots on a roster full of underachievers. There’s little doubt that he deserves to have a starting role next season. He’s always played with consistency and energy. On his goal, Matt Rempe helped screen Kolosov, who couldn’t quite pick up Brodzinski’s shot which changed direction to beat him upstairs.

Just over a minute later, Will Cuylle and Zibanejad combined to set up a quick Miller one-timer that surprised Kolosov to put the Rangers up 4-3. But just as PA announcer Joe Tolleson was announcing the goal, Jakob Pelletier escaped Panarin and had an Owen Tippett rebound take a funny carom off him past Quick that tied the score a minute later.

With the game tied up again, Matvei Michkov took a Travis Konecny feed and sent a wrist shot towards the net. Quick overplayed it, leaving a juicy rebound for Flyers captain Sean Couturier to deposit to make it 5-4.

The scoring binge continued when Foerster got his second of the game. Sanheim was allowed to come off the wall by Vaakanainen and made a sweet pass across for a Foerster blast that extended the Flyers lead to two with 4:27 remaining. It was pretty bad defense by Vaakanainen. Trocheck was also a spectator.

Trailing by two, the Rangers lifted Quick for an extra attacker. Some excellent hustle from Adam Fox kept the puck in allowing Zibanejad to set up Kreider for his 21st goal with 1:50 left in regulation. That was as close as they got.

Both Foerster and Tippett added empty netters in the final minute to seal it. Tippett’s goal was pretty cool due to him spinning around and firing the puck off the crossbar and in from long distance. Both Rosen and Davidson chuckled.

When it was over, TNT went back on camera one last time to show Rosen and Davidson talking about their reunion. It was a special moment for both of them.

In many ways, it felt like being in a time warp. Seeing them together took me back to watching Rangers games growing up. The really great part is that they were able to turn back the clock and recapture the magic that made them the best in the game. Even that sounds biased, that’s because everyone knows who Sam and JD are. They’re legendary broadcasters and wonderful people.

We’ve been really lucky to have Rosen call our games for so long. Even now, he still has that youthful enthusiasm that’s made him a fan favorite. I can only think of one other legendary hockey broadcaster who had that. That would be the retired Doc Emrick. Whatever side you rooted for on the Hudson, it’s been a blast. When Rosen calls his final game on Apr. 17 against the Lightning, it’ll be emotional for both him and the fans. I hope the Rangers win that one for him. He deserves to go out with a victory.

I can’t say enough about the NHL On TNT. They did an outstanding job with the broadcast last night. Their coverage is superb. Thank you for bringing back Sam and JD for one more game.