‘Snake-bitten’ Joel Farabee virtually earns spot on Flyers’ roster in shootout loss to Rangers

NEW YORK -- Rookie Joel Farabee did everything except score in Thursday night’s preseason game at Madison Square Garden.

He took 10 shots, put five of them on net, and hit two posts in the Flyers’ 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. He also made a deft move but was denied by Henrik Lundqvist in the shootout.

No matter. The 19-year-old right winger seemed to lock up a spot on the Flyers’ opening-night roster.

Coach Alain Vigneault was asked whether he would feel comfortable having Farabee in the lineup when the season starts Oct. 4 against Chicago in Prague.

“Well, if he’s not in the lineup the first game, it’ll be a surprise,” Vigneault said. “We still have one more exhibition game [Monday in Switzerland], but he’s played extremely well. In my mind, if we would start tomorrow, he’d probably be in our lineup. But we still have one more exhibition. I think we’ll play that out and see where it all falls into place."

Vigneault added: “He played extremely well tonight; he got some good looks. He’s having a hard time finding the score sheet, but it’s not for a lack of trying.”

The Flyers (1-2-3) controlled the first two periods but were locked in a 1-1 tie. The Blueshirts outshot the Flyers in the third, 11-2, but couldn’t solve Carter Hart.

“I really loved our first two periods. We made some plays, and we were on the puck,” Vigneault said. “In the third, I loved Carter Hart. He played the best I’ve seen so far in training camp. He made the difference in the third period.”

As for Farabee, third-line center Scott Laughton shook his head at his linemate’s tough luck.

“He’s snakebitten,” Laughton said. “He’s hit five posts from what I remember in the preseason. The kid’s smart and a really good player.”

Farabee, who didn’t collect a point in the preseason, was asked how much he would pay for a goal.

“Probably a lot,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating when goals [are] not going in, but at the end of the day, I’m getting chances. That’s all I can ask for right now.”

Farabee, a freshman standout at Boston University last season, said he felt better Thursday than in any preseason game.

“I’m getting more comfortable with the speed and where plays are going to be made,” he said.

The Flyers were 0-for-3 in the shootout (Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux, Farabee). Mika Zibanejad won it in the third round.

As he prepared for the shootout, Farabee was “getting a lot of encouragement” from his teammates, Vigneault said. “I think everybody is seeing the same thing. The kid’s got a lot of upside, a lot of potential. He’s a little bit snakebitten, but he’s working extremely hard, and that’s a good sign for him and a good sign for us.”

Lundqvist made 32 saves, including a two-on-one when he denied Farabee after he took a nice pass from Laughton.

The fourth line had three players trying to earn spots: Connor Bunnaman centering wingers Carsen Twarzynski and Chris Stewart. They each played only about seven minutes.

“It was a different game tonight for them," Vigneault said. "I didn’t think they were as strong maybe as the last game they played in Boston, but they did have some good moments, also.”

In the preseason, Hart stopped 56 of 57 shots, a .982 save percentage. ... Vigneault praised the work of defensemen Phil Myers, Samuel Morin, and Robert Hagg (seven hits). He called it Morin’s best showing of the preseason. “He moved the puck well; he was physical,” Vigneault said.