The Rangers get a timely shot at the Flyers on Thursday night, and the timing could not be much worse for Philadelphia.
New York enters the matchup sitting in third place in the Metropolitan Division as of Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s win over the St. Louis Blues.
That standing looks even better when stacked against the Flyers, who are tied for last in the division after 17 games. The Rangers haven’t exactly been cruising lately, but they still have a chance to deepen the frustration around a Philadelphia team that has stumbled badly out of the gate.
That’s a sharp turn from where the Flyers were last spring. They made the playoffs for the first time since 2020, then pushed past the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games before getting swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
Even with no major additions - and after missing on a Leo Carlsson offer sheet - the expectation was that Philadelphia would build on that run. Instead, the season opened with a 7-0 loss to the Penguins, and the slide kept going.
The Flyers didn’t get their first win until their 10th game, starting the year 0-6-3.
They did briefly steady themselves with a three-game winning streak, but the momentum didn’t last. Before facing the Rangers, Philadelphia had dropped three of its last four, leaving it parked near the bottom of the division with the Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets.
New York has its own issues, of course. The Rangers have dropped four of their last five and are dealing with injuries in goal, which has forced Dylan Garand into the net every game.
Head coach Mike Sullivan is also still sorting through changes to the forward lines and the power play. After opening 4-2-0, the Rangers are now 8-7-1.
Still, there’s one area where they hold a clear edge. Through 16 games, New York owns a league-best 90.4 penalty kill success percentage.
That’s a problem for a Flyers team whose power play has been struggling again, just as it did in last year’s playoffs. Philadelphia is sitting at 16.7 percent on the man advantage, the sixth-worst mark in the NHL.
So Thursday night gives the Rangers a clean opportunity: beat the Flyers, keep them stuck in last place in the Metropolitan Division, and reinforce the idea that New York belongs in the playoff picture.
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Tampas front office and coaching staff have said they do not intend to move him, and most around the league still expect him to stay through the season before testing the market in free agency. If it gets to that point, the ripple effect could be significant, with several teams already viewed as realistic landing spots and the Rangers among the clubs keeping a close eye on how this plays out. [Read more 🡒]