Lengthy point streaks by the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers are helping the Metropolitan rivals ascend in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race where eight teams are separated by five points.
Heading into Thursday’s encounter in New York, the Rangers are on a nine-game points streak while the Flyers are attempting to earn at least a point in a seventh straight contest.
The Rangers allowed goals to Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny in the opening 4:24 of their 3-1 loss at Philadelphia on Nov. 29 and it was their fifth straight defeat in what became a 4-15-0 slide. The skid saw the Rangers go from two points out of first place in the Metropolitan to seven points out of the second wild-card spot.
The last game of that skid was a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Dec. 30 and since then the Rangers are 7-1-3 in their past 11 contests. New York’s lone regulation loss was a 7-4 road setback to the Washington Capitals on Jan. 4 and since then the Rangers are 6-0-3.
New York is on its best points streak since winning 10 straight Jan. 27-Feb 24 last season en route to winning the President’s Trophy. The Rangers scored at least three goals for the sixth time in this stretch Tuesday night when it rolled to a 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators that improved them to 4-0-1 in their past five home contests following a run of eight losses in 11 home games.
Two nights after blowing four one-goal leads in a 5-4 overtime loss to the host Montreal Canadiens, the Rangers earned their most lopsided victory of their hot streak by getting goals from five different players and points from 13 players. Alexis Lafreniere, Arthur Kaliyev and Matt Rempe scored at even strength before Artemi Panarin and Will Cuylle scored power-play goals 56 seconds apart in the third period.
“It was really good, but it’s been fairly consistent,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said after his team allowed a season-low 20 shots on goal and scored at least five goals for the ninth time. “I thought tonight we were real sharp defensively out of the gate in the first period, able to get a lead.”
The Rangers have a game in hand with the Flyers, who are at 50 points through 48 games. Before its hot streak, Philadelphia lost four straight (0-3-1) and went 5-10-2 in a 17-game span from Dec. 1-Jan. 9 that dropped them five points out.
Philadelphia’s successful streak began with a 6-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 11 and its only loss was a shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 14 when it allowed the tying goal with under five minutes remaining.
The Flyers played their fourth one-goal contest in their streak when they earned a 2-1 overtime win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Rasmus Ristolainen scored with 26 seconds left in overtime and Joel Farabee scored in the first period before setting up the game-winner, giving him four points since being scratched for three straight contests.
Philadelphia’s latest win was its 11th one-goal victory and the Flyers head to New York having allowed 30 shots on goal or fewer in 12 straight contests.
“I think as a young team, we’re learning to play those tight games, be patient, not open up and give in,” Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. “These are good learning experiences. We’re finding ways to get results, so it’s always rewarding. It’s nice for the confidence. We’ve just got to build on that.”
–Field Level Media
