The Flyers face a must-win for their dwindling playoff hopes: ‘It’s a great opportunity for us’

NEW YORK ― New York was built on the backs of the blue-collar workers who filled its streets. It’s a pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps type of town. That mentality is something the Flyers need to draw from as they aim to take a bite out of the Big Apple on Thursday night against the New York Rangers.

Because, if you can make it there , maybe the Flyers can make it anywhere — like the playoffs.

“The key is just not quitting,” captain Sean Couturier said. “We’re going through a tough time here, a tough stretch, at a bad time in the season. But, you know, we’re still in it. You don’t know what can happen here, especially with the way that our division has been going all year.

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“So there’s no quitting. Even last game” — a 9-3 loss in Montreal — “I don’t believe we quit. Yeah, you know, we were maybe stupid at times and made some dumb decisions that cost us big time. But there’s no quit, so that’s the key point for us here.”

Entering Thursday’s matchup with the top team in the NHL, the Flyers are mired in an eight-game losing streak with two points and three teams ahead of them for a playoff spot.

If the Flyers don’t win Thursday night, it could be four points — if the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres — standing in their way, or three if the Caps lose in regulation, with either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Detroit Red Wings guaranteed to win their matchup.

“We’ve won this year as a team; that’s the way we go about it,” coach John Tortorella said. “I think certain individuals have hurt their game because they’re trying to do too much and try to take too much on. Yeah, I can see it happening through a lineup. ...

“I think we need to have a calm intensity about ourselves tonight. Structure is so important right now because we’ve lost it.”

Over the past handful of games, the Flyers’ structure has completely collapsed, especially in the defensive zone as they have failed to step up on their opponents during rushes or have left players wide open in front.

As Tortorella said Thursday morning, he’s not worried about the attitude of his club, he just needs to make sure the structure is proper, especially against a high-powered offensive team like the Rangers.

“Earlier in the year, I thought we were doing a good job, just sticking to our structures, sticking to our game plan, letting chances come and we were scoring more goals, obviously,” Couturier said.

“Sometimes when you’re not getting the bounces your way, you start to cheat a little more, get out of structure, and look for those offensive chances,” Couturier said. “Especially at this time of the year, it costs you. So it’s on us to just be more responsible.”

But maybe playing the Rangers, a team they have gone toe-to-toe with and came close to beating in the last two outings — including a 6-5 overtime loss on March 26 — is the perfect opponent to right the ship.

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“They’re the best team in the league, and Torts said this morning it’s a great opportunity for us,” defenseman Nick Seeler said. “We need to rise to the occasion, and it’s the most important game of the year and we need a win. Everybody knows that because we can can’t go back home without two points.

“Everybody knows the stakes, but hopefully we all rise to the occasion and stick together tonight and have a great comeback game and get out of this rut.”

“We’re just pressing a little too hard right now,” winger Travis Konecny added. “It just needs to happen one at a time, one shift at a time. We’ve got to break it down to the basics again, and just, honestly, I think just get back to having fun. Stop worrying about the outside noise, whatever. ... We’ve just got to go back and have fun.”

Sam Ersson will start in net against the Rangers. ... Nic Deslauriers, Denis Gurianov, Olle Lycksell, Adam Ginning, and Ronnie Attard each stayed after morning skate. They are expected to be healthy scratches. ... The Flyers sat in their stalls Tuesday night after the 9-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens so that every player could answer for what occurred. According to a source, it was not an organizational decision but a suggestion, but the players decided to face the media together.