Flyers end 8-game losing streak with victory over Rangers
NEW YORK — Bobby Brink scored the go-ahead goal early in the second period, Samuel Ersson made 24 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.
Cam York, Travis Konecny and Noah Cates also scored for the Flyers, who were 0-6-2 since defeating Boston at home on March 23. Ryan Poehling added two assists as Philadelphia stayed alive in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Flyers have two games remaining and are tied with Washington and Detroit at 85 points, one point behind Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot. The Capitals, Red Wings and Penguins all have three games left.
"Tonight's game was something we can lean on for how we have to play for these next two,'' Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "We win and we get to fight another day."
The Rangers had won seven in a row against the Flyers and were 10-0-1 in their last 11 meetings with Philadelphia. They were coming a 4-2 road loss the Islanders on Tuesday. The Rangers hadn't lost two straight in regulation since Jan. 18 and 20 at Vegas and Los Angeles.
"I don't think we made good decisions and I don't think the urgency was there," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "As a team, we didn't generate enough."
Ersson improved to 22-18-7 while allowing only a goal to Artemi Panarin. The Flyers were coming off a 9-3 loss at Montreal on Tuesday.
"This was definitely huge, coming off a performance like last game,'' Ersson said. "We put everything into it. This was a very good game for us, building some momentum for the last couple of games."
The Rangers remained at 53 wins, one shy of a franchise record. New York hosts the Islanders and Ottawa to complete their regular-season schedule.
"The urgency has to be there these next two games,'' Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. "We have to play our best hockey."
York opened the scoring at 4:21 of the first, rifling the puck past Jonathan Quick for his 10th goal.
Panarin tied it with his 47th goal on the power-play goal at 18:19 of the first. Panarin has 117 points, six shy of the franchise record set by Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06. He also set a Rangers record with points in 65 of New York's 80 games this season. The 32-year-old forward has points in 11 consecutive games, with nine goals and 14 assists.
Brink put the Flyers ahead with his 11th goal at 3:29 of the second when his shot toward the net deflected off Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller's stick and past Quick.
Konecny made it 3-1 with his team-leading 32nd goal with 47 seconds remaining in the second.
Cates increased the Flyers' lead to 4-1 with his sixth goal at 5:56 of the third.
"We talked about playing a simple game,'' Tortorella added. "Our whole play was to make sure we defend first and I thought our guys did a really good job of that."
The Rangers lead Carolina by three points for the division lead and Boston by three points for Eastern Conference top spot. The Hurricanes and Bruins each have three games remaining.
"We're fighting for the division right now. This is no time for us to let up,'' Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. "We want to playing good hockey heading into the playoffs."
SPECIAL AWARD
Defenseman Adam Fox received the Rod Gilbert "Mr. Ranger" Award, given to the player "who best honors Rod's legacy by exemplifying leadership qualities both on and off the ice and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community." Gilbert, the Hall of Fame right wing who holds the franchise record for goals (406) and points (1,021), died in August 2021.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host the Islanders on Saturday.
Flyers: Host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.