The New York Rangers will not have many opportunities to make some positive traction at home for a while.
Before heading out to play six games away from Madison Square Garden, the Rangers will hope to earn their fifth home win Saturday afternoon when they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
New York’s next home game after Saturday will be Jan. 5 against the Utah Mammoth.
The Rangers start their trip Sunday in Nashville before facing the Washington Capitals on two occasions, plus visiting the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders ahead of a trip to the Florida Panthers in the NHL Winter Classic.
Before the trek, the Rangers are hoping to improve their 4-10-3 record at home. New York scored a total of one goal in losses to the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks on a back-to-back set earlier this week.
Those losses followed a modest four-game point streak (2-0-2) on home ice that featured overtime wins over the Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens along with overtime losses to the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights.
The Rangers were blanked for the sixth time on home ice in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Vancouver when they finished with 23 shots on goal and went 0-for-4 on the power play.
New York followed up Tuesday’s loss by improving its road record to 13-5-1 when captain J.T. Miller scored his third overtime goal this season to complete a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
“Obviously, there was momentum swings on both sides,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought the first two periods we were the better team. I thought they were the better team in the third period. They pushed; they elevated their intensity in the third. I thought they controlled territory in the third, but I thought in the first and second, it was the other way around.”
Artemi Panarin, who has five goals in his last 11 games and took eight shots on goal Tuesday, missed the Thursday game with an illness. If Panarin plays on Saturday, he will be in a lineup with Gabe Perreault, who scored his first career goal on a power play and was added along with Brennan Othmann from Hartford of the American Hockey League.
Since winning three straight from Nov. 26-29, the Flyers are 3-3-3 and concluding a four-game road trip.
Philadelphia earned a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday but followed it up by collapsing in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
The Flyers held a 2-1 lead through the opening 31 minutes on goals by Noah Cates and defenseman Cameron York but allowed three straight goals, including two in a span of 2:36 late in the second.
Philadelphia also continued to struggle on the power play by going scoreless on three chances, including a two-man advantage with the extra attacker. The Flyers had four shots on power plays and are 0-for-16 on man advantages since going 4-for-16 in a four-game span Nov. 28-Dec. 3.
“Lessons to be had here,” Philadelphia defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “You can’t take anything for granted, can’t take your foot off the gas, and get away from your game. We’re not good enough to play that style. We have our style that works for us and when we do, we’re a really good hockey team, and when we get away from it, you see that tonight.”
–Field Level Media
