Flyers lose hard-fought battle to Rangers in overtime

NEW YORK — There’s no denying it. The Flyers have been playing good hockey.

They haven’t always been on the winning side of contests but they knew hitting Broadway that if they keep maintaining the way they’ve been playing, the lights will shine bright on them.

As Travis Konecny said after the team’s morning skate at Madison Square Garden: “We played the right way, we played hard, and we gave ourselves a chance. … The results aren’t there, but all you can do is continue to do the same things and you just hope that you start getting results.”

On Tuesday night, the Flyers kept on playing the right way, this time against the New York Rangers. And while the results once again weren’t there, with a hard-fought 6-5 overtime loss — Adam Fox scored the game-winner 36 seconds into the extra session — they proved once again the Orange and Black are a team to fear in the Eastern Conference.

Scott Laughton gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 2 minutes, 58 seconds into the second period. Jack Roslovic knocked the puck down with a high stick and Travis Sanheim was able to play it up from the Flyers’ zone to Konecny without pressure. Konecny then hit Laughton streaking wide open down the right side as some of the Rangers were going for the long change. The veteran forward zinged it past Igor Shesterkin from the right faceoff circle for his 13th goal of the year.

Laughton then played a key role in the Flyers taking a 2-0 lead. On a power play drawn by Tyson Foerster, the Orange and Black showed off some fancy passing. Owen Tippett got the puck at the left point, spun, and passed to Egor Zamula. The young defenseman avoided some pressure and cut down the middle before dishing to Laughton in the right circle who fed to Ryan Poehling — a guy John Tortorella said “deserved to play” on the power play earlier in the day — open in front for the tip-in.

Then the Rangers showed why they have been atop the Metropolitan Division standings for almost the entire season — and clinched a playoff spot with the win.

Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play marker through a Chris Kreider screen to cut it to 2-1 later in the second period. In the third period, New York scored two goals in 94 seconds. After Erik Johson turned the puck over to Kaapo Kakko, he fed Jonny Brodzinski in the slot for the slam-dunk goal and Alexis Lafrenière gave the Rangers their first lead of the game when he jammed in a loose puck after Poehling saved it from the goal line.

But as they’ve shown all season long, never count out the Flyers. After a Rangers forward ringed the puck around the offensive zone straight to Konency, he raced out two-on-one with Tippett. Konecny kept it and, with Fox diving at him, scored short side to tie it a 3-3.

And so began the seesaw battle.

Vincent Trocheck scored a shortie off a spectacular pump-fake backhand pass by Zibanejad as they broke out two-on-one on Cam York. They were sprung after Konency missed a pass in the Rangers’ zone.

Tippett made it 4-4 just over 2 minutes later when Morgan Frost sent a saucer pass up to the speedy winger and, although he hit the post, it ended up going in off Shesterkin. And just over 2 minutes after that, Lafrenière scored his second of the game on a loose puck after Konecny went down in pain blocking an Artemi Panarin shoot attempt. Konecny stayed in the game.

But with 3:31 left in the game, the never-say-die Flyers tied it again, this time Foerster scored after Garnet Hathaway’s shot squeaked through and was taken off the goal line by the Rangers.

Breakaways

Poehling’s goal was his 10th of the season, setting a new career high. It was his first power-play goal since April 13, 2022, with the Montreal Canadiens. … Konecny tied his career high with his 31st goal of the season. … Nic Deslauriers, Marc Staal, Cam Atkinson, and Denis Gurianov were again the healthy scratches. …

Up next

The Flyers head across the border to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.