Isaiah McKenzie knows he let a big opportunity slip right through his fingers last season.

Six muffed punts .

The Denver Broncos returner knows he can't hide from that glaring figure. All he can do is learn  Robert Newhouse Jersey , which is why McKenzie went back and watched every mistake again and again. He's hoping to win back trust and receive another chance after fumbling it away.

"Unacceptable," the 5-foot-8, 173-pound McKenzie said of his rookie season as two of his muffs led to turnovers and another to a safety. "I say that because I know the things I can do. I can catch the ball. I can make plays. I made bad decisions. I understand that and I'm building off that. I've come back this year with a better mindset."

Over the offseason, he focused on little things: Getting more sleep. Eating better. Lifting more in the weight room.

"It was about getting my mind right, my body right," McKenzie said.

He also scrutinized those muffed punts and the decisions that led to them.

"It's like, `Why did I do that? I shouldn't have done that,"' said McKenzie, whose long return last season was 44 yards at Philadelphia. "The first four games, I was catching everything and making big plays. I kind of got greedy."

He's got even more competition this time around. There's receiver Jordan Taylor and rookie wideout DaeSean Hamilton, along with rookie running backs David Williams, Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. The team also has a new special teams coordinator in Tom McMahon, who doesn't have any sort of hierarchy in place yet.

Or preconceived notions.

"I want them to earn it  http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/prince-amukamara-jersey ," McMahon said. "Naturally, Isaiah and Jordan, in my opinion, they're doing a great job right now. … We're going to have a great returner, whoever it is."

McKenzie just hopes he can win back the confidence in him – from head coach Vance Joseph, who kept running him out there. From his teammates. From the fans.

"People don't understand, you're sitting in the stands, but punt return is hard. It's a tough job," receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. "He has to reset. He doesn't have a choice. He has to take a step back and say, `OK, how can I break down the film and get better?' That's what he's been doing. We're going to see if it paid off when the season comes."

McKenzie also hopes there's room for him as a receiver. The team spent draft picks on Courtland Sutton (second round) and Hamilton (fourth).

"We got two of the best receivers in the draft," said McKenzie, who caught four passes for 29 yards. "It's a job competition every day. That's what I come here to do  Ryan Murray Jersey , compete every day."

A fifth-round pick out of Georgia, McKenzie started out with a 31-yard punt return against the Los Angeles Chargers in the opener.

Soon after, the muffs began to happen. Two against Oakland, which didn't result in turnovers. Another mishandling against the New York Giants – again recovered and no real harm done, except perhaps to the psyche.

McKenzie's bobble cost him at Kansas City , with his turnover leading to a field goal. And another against New England after the defense forced a three-and-out to open the game. Tom Brady converted that into a TD during a 41-16 rout on Nov. 12.

McKenzie was inactive the following week in a season going sideways. At practice on Thanksgiving Day, McKenzie and defensive back Chris Harris Jr. got into a tussle.

The following week, inactive again before he returned Dec. 3 at Miami. He fumbled a punt in the fourth quarter that led to him being tackled in the end zone for a safety. He didn't return a punt over the last four contests.

"Last year was a roller coaster," McKenzie said. "But it's a fresh start. I'm catching the ball well on punts. I'm keeping it rolling."

NOTES: Sanders is hoping to help set up a quarterback/receiver camp this summer. "Go out there for two or three days and throw the football around and hang out and gain team chemistry," Sanders said. … S Justin Simmons is trying to balance workouts with being a father after the birth of his daughter last month. "No sleep," he said. "But it's good."

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Claude Giroux capped the best season of his career in spectacular fashion.

Giroux earned his first career hat trick in the regular season and the Philadelphia Flyers clinched a playoff berth in their final regular-season game with a 5-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Giroux finished with 34 goals and 102 points. He extended his career highs in points and goals while becoming the sixth player in franchise history to reach 100 points in a season.

"He was dialed in," coach Dave Hakstol said.

Giroux said a key to his performance in such a crucial game was keeping his emotions in check.

"When you wake up, you try to be not jacked up  Chris Wormley Jersey ," he said. "You learn while you go through seasons. You don't want to try to do too much."

Michael Raffl and Ivan Provorov also scored for the Flyers, who needed at least one point to make the playoffs and eliminate the Florida Panthers from postseason contention.

"We had a lot of good performances tonight and that's what it takes," Hakstol said.

The Flyers (42-26-14) are returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and will be vying for their third Stanley Cup. The club won back-to-back titles in 1973-74 and 1974-75.

"We have to turn the page and get excited again," Giroux said.

The Flyers' captain scored his first two goals during Philadelphia's dominating second period in which it outscored the Rangers 3-0 thanks in part to an 18-5 shots advantage.

Giroux put the Flyers ahead 2-0 with 7:36 left in the second when his shot from the left circle got through Henrik Lundqvist's legs after a screen by Nolan Patrick.

Raffl made it a three-goal lead when he took the rebound of Radko Gudas' shot from the point with a turnaround shot that got past Lundqvist's right pad with 2:07 left in the period.

And Philadelphia set a club record for the quickest two goals when Giroux fired past Lundqvist's glove side with a wrist shot from the slot just 6 seconds after Raffl's tally to make it 4-0. Raffl set up the play by intercepting a Rangers pass at the blue line and dropping a pass to Giroux.

The fans unleashed a thunderous "M-V-P!" `'M-V-P!" chant for Giroux when he was shown on the video board after his second tally.

And Giroux had the sold-out crowd of 20,028 in a frenzy when he scored his third on a breakaway with 9:49 left in the third period. Hundreds of hats littered the ice, causing a seven-minute delay, and Giroux smiled on the video board and waved to the crowd, which gave him a standing ovation.

"(Giroux) has worked hard," Hakstol said. "He earned that and he's very deserving of that moment."

The Rangers (34-39-9), who are out of the postseason for the first time since 2009-10, ended their regular season with their ninth loss in the last 11.

Lundqvist said New York needs to hit the reset button this offseason.

"It's about winning games and getting back to the playoffs," he said. "We need to set that goal right away. If you're here  Darren Helm Jersey , you're here to make a difference. I think we can turn this around real quick."

Brian Elliott made 17 saves in his second game in goal after returning in Thursday's 4-3 win over Carolina following a 25-game absence because of core muscle surgery on Feb. 13.

Elliott was shaky in the win over the Hurricanes, allowing a pair of soft goals while making 19 saves. He didn't have much action against the Rangers.

Provorov got the Flyers on the board 6 1/2 minutes into the game when he scored on a 6-on-5 advantage as a result of a delayed penalty. Sean Couturier sent the puck toward the crease from the left of the goal, and the puck caromed off Provorov's right shoulder and past Lundqvist. The goal stood after an officials' review.

NOTES: D Brady Skjei is the only Rangers player to appear in every game this season. Four Flyers: Couturier, Provorov, Giroux and Jakub Voracek, accomplished the feat for Philadelphia. … Eric Lindros was the previous Flyers player to reach 100 points, with 115 in the 1995-96 season. Giroux's other hat trick came in Game 2 of the first round of the 2012 playoffs against the Penguins. … LW Matt Beleskey, acquired in the trade that sent Rick Nash to the Bruins on Feb. 25, made his Rangers debut and C Steven Fogarty made his NHL debut for New York.

UP NEXT

Rangers: End of regular season

Flyers: First-round playoff series.

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