It took a skills competition to decide but once again, the Rangers found a way to win pulling out a 5-4 shootout over the Flyers for their fourth consecutive victory Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

Veteran finisher Brendan Shanahan and rookie forward Nigel Dawes beat Flyer backup goalie Martin Biron in the shootout while Ranger backup Stephen Valiquette did just enough to keep both Flyer shooters at bay giving the Blueshirts an important extra point to remain ahead of their bitter Atlantic rival in the standings.

It also allowed them to keep pace with the red hot Bruins. Though Boston has one more win and two extra games remaining down the stretch.

The exciting finish concluded one of the most unpredictable hockey games in which both starting netminders Henrik Lundqvist and Antero Niittymaki were both gone just a couple of minutes into the second. A wide open first period saw the two teams trade goals, hit, scrap and combine for six goals with each team netting three.

Recent Flyer deadline pickup Vaclav Prospal got the scoring started when he got to a Daniel Briere rebound stuffing one home for his 30th only 68 seconds in. It didn’t take long for the Rangers to knot it. While on a man-advantage, forward Marty Straka took a Dan Girardi pass in the high slot and ripped one off the post and in 3:12 later.

However, the Flyers came back with a power play goal of their own when defenseman Braydon Coburn got to a Mike Knuble rebound and drove it past a sprawling Lundqvist at 8:14. Once again, the Blueshirts tied it 3:22 later when deadline pickup Fredrik Sjostrom got three cracks before rebounding home his first as a Ranger from Blair Betts and Marek Malik.

Rookie Ryan Callahan then gave the Rangers their first lead when he was allowed to bury a Straka pass in front for his sixth just 2:22 later. But the Flyers weren’t done thanks to Jeff Carter, who escaped Michal Rozsival with the puck and floated a soft backhand for his 22nd past Lundqvist less than two minutes later.

It ended Lundqvist’s day as Ranger coach Tom Renney opted to put Valiquette in to start the second. The affable backup who posted consecutive road shutouts in Philly once again responded, stopping 17 of 18 en route to his first win on Garden ice this season. He previously had won all four decisions against the Flyers and Maple Leafs on the road.

“I went through (a shootout) last year, when I beat St. Louis, and I was really happy because it was in MSG,” a happy Valiquette expressed to the Associated Press yesterday. “It’s always nice to be a hockey player and have an MSG moment.”

Christian Backman’s first goal as a Ranger chased Niittymaki 1:51 into the middle stanza. Setup by a Shanahan pass, the former Blue blasted one top shelf forcing the Finnish goalie to the bench.

“There weren’t any bad goals … but if you want to win in this league you have to be able to make a couple of big saves,” a philosophical Niittymaki pointed out. “I just wasn’t able to do that.”

The battle of backups featured an entertaining scrap between team enforcers Colton Orr and Jesse Boulerice. Each traded heavy rights battling to a draw.

Both clubs settled down as Valiquette and a sharp Biron (21 saves) made timely stops to keep it a one-goal contest entering the third. In it, the Flyers drew even thanks to some nifty hand eye coordination skills by Carter, who chipped a puck out of mid-air backhanding it past Valiquette to tie it at four with 8:11 left in regulation.

The game would require overtime but neither team budged forcing it to the shootout. In it, a patient Shanahan went top shelf to give the Rangers the lead. Following a nice stop by Valiquette on Kimmo Timonen’s forehand deke attempt, Dawes deked and tucked a backhand through Biron’s five-hole putting the Flyers on the brink.

Carter had Valiquette beaten but his shot rang off the left post and stayed out giving the Rangers the victory improving them to 7-0-2 in their last nine.

“I was just focusing on staying square and taking away shooting options,” Valiquette noted of the close call after finishing with 17 saves for his ninth career NHL victory. “I didn’t think it went in. I thought it was going wide. Then I heard it hit the post and I had to make sure I didn’t kick it in. “

“It was kind of funny to see both starting goaltenders pulled relatively early,” Shanahan remarked. “Henrik and I had a little chuckle on the bench when they pulled their guy. Just one of those nights.”

Notes: The Rangers host the archrival Islanders tomorrow night in the first of a pivotal home-and-home series. The Isles dropped their fourth in the last five yesterday 1-0 and trail the Blueshirts by seven points. More importantly, they’re now five behind the Flyers for the final playoff spot. … The Flyers gained a valuable point to improve to 3-0-1 in their last four. With Buffalo losing at home to Detroit 4-2 last night, Philadelphia leads the Sabres by four points for the eighth seed. … With a helper, Jaromir Jagr extended his point streak to five straight (2-6-8). He’s 2-8-10 with a plus-four rating over the past seven games. … Carter has four points (3-1-4) over the last two games. … Malik notched a pair of helpers. Five of his eight points this season have come since returning to the lineup Feb.16.