With 16 of their final 25 regular-season games on home ice, the New York Rangers are looking to put on a show for their fans as they open the post-Olympic portion of the schedule by hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
Eastern Conference cellar-dwelling New York has dropped four straight games, including a 2-0 loss on home ice to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the Olympic break. The Rangers were shut out at home for the seventh time this season.
“I think the goal is to keep pushing. Obviously, the picture probably isn’t looking great for us,” New York defenseman Braden Schneider said. “At this point, we’re just making sure we’re doing everything we can. We have a lot of home games — I think getting wins at home and doing that for the fans is massive.
“We’re all pros here, we all want to be better, we all want to be the best version of ourselves for our teammates. I think that’s the goal to make sure everyone is putting their best foot forward.”
The Rangers have dropped seven of their last eight games in regulation and are 2-11-1 since picking up a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2.
With Artemi Panarin traded to the Los Angeles Kings prior to the break, Mika Zibanejad paces the Rangers with 23 goals and 52 points in 56 games.
Jonathan Quick is 4-14-2 in 20 games this season, posting a 3.10 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. Quick is 12-6-2 with a 2.33 GAA and .923 SP in 21 career appearances against the Flyers.
Thursday is the third of four meetings between the Flyers and Rangers. New York edged Philadelphia 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 20 before doubling up the Flyers 6-3 on Jan. 17.
The Flyers travel to New York for the second half of a back-to-back following a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
“We had our chances, we had our looks,” Flyers forward Christian Dvorak said. “I think we’ve just got to get a little more gritty in front of the net and get some dirty goals.”
Noah Cates scored a goal and Dan Vladar made 26 saves for the Flyers, who have lost six of their past seven games (1-4-2).
“There was some good stuff there, but obviously with four or five minutes left … I thought there was some sloppiness at certain points,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “I guess that happens after a couple weeks off. Coverages, we kind of have a bad change and they get that goal.”
Samuel Ersson, Thursday’s likely starter, is 8-10-5 with an .856 save percentage and a 3.51 GAA in 24 appearances this season. In six career games against the Rangers, Ersson is 1-3-2 with an .872 save percentage and a 3.57 GAA.
Travis Konecny has a team-leading 22 goals and 54 points in 56 games this season for the Flyers, who wrap up their season series with the Rangers on March 9 in Philadelphia.
