Flyers fall to the New York Rangers in overtime, 3-2, dropping their fourth straight

The Flyers may not have the skill that the New York Rangers do, but on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center, they boasted the necessary to go toe-to-toe with their Metropolitan division foe.

After their 7-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, the Flyers responded with a competitive effort against the Rangers with plenty of New York faithful in the crowd. But they fell in overtime, 3-2, thanks to a Vladimir Tarasenko goal 2 minutes, 32 seconds into the extra period.

“I thought our team played hard,” coach John Tortorella said. “I thought they played the right way they needed to tonight, we just played well enough to lose.”

The Flyers started off slow and allowed a Mika Zibanejad power-play goal just three minutes into the first period. But they regrouped and pushed back, as wingers Owen Tippett (power play) and Scott Laughton tallied goals of their own to put the Flyers up 2-1 going into the third period.

The Rangers came out of the second intermission looking like a completely revitalized team and chipped away in the final frame of regulation. They eventually found the equalizer when winger Chris Kreider tipped a Tarasenko point shot past Hart midway through the third period.

Now, the Flyers are 1-10 in overtime this season. They have lost their last four straight games (0-3-1).

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At morning skate on Wednesday, Tortorella emphasized the importance of the remaining games as they relate to player development. One of the players he’ll continue to keep an eye on is Tippett, whom Tortorella wants to see improve his play away from the puck in the final stretch.

On the flip side, his play with the puck continued to stand out against the Rangers with his impressive shot. With the Rangers up, 1-0, the Flyers earned their third power play of the first period when defenseman Cam York drew a tripping penalty in the offensive zone. Center Elliot Desnoyers and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen battled with Blueshirts for the puck in the corner, then Ristolainen won it and passed the puck to Tippett uncovered in the slot. Tippett fired a shot past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin to tie the game, 1-1. Tippett had a couple more Grade A chances in the second period, but he was unable to capitalize.

Tippett has three goals in his last four games. His 18 goals rank second on the team, pulling ahead of Kevin Hayes.

“I thought tonight, the first couple minutes, we were a little slow,” Tippett said. “But then we got going and simplified things and it made it a lot easier on us.”

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The Flyers carried over momentum into the second period by taking up residency in the Rangers’ zone. In the middle frame, the Flyers generated 20 shot attempts to the Rangers’ 15, according to Natural Stat Trick, and a whopping eight of them of them resulted in high-danger scoring chances.

Eleven minutes into the second period, the Flyers turned a chance into a goal thanks to the efforts of winger Scott Laughton. As he stickhandled out of the corner with the puck and maneuvered in tight on the net, Laughton roofed the puck past Shesterkin to pull the Flyers ahead, 2-1. Laughton’s 14 goals this season are a career high, breaking his 13-goal mark in the 2019-20 season.

Wednesday’s contest marked the Flyers’ final game before the March 3 trade deadline. In the interest of protecting their trade chips, plenty of teams around the league have healthy-scratched players prior to moving them. However, general manager Chuck Fletcher didn’t opt to hold anyone out on Wednesday, including winger James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Justin Braun, who each are in the final year of their contract.

Both Braun and van Riemsdyk appeared to be slightly limited in their ice time. Braun finished the night with 6:25 minutes on ice (15:34 season average) and van Riemsdyk with 13:25 (16:05 season average).

Van Riemsdyk, who did not play Saturday against the Devils as Tortorella called him “banged up,” had a between-the-legs shot on goal in the first period, but Shesterkin denied him. Neither player registered a point Wednesday.

“Being so close to home and being able to share a lot of this experience with my parents has ... it’s going to be a special thing looking back on that,” said van Riemsdyk, from Middletown, N.J. “But, again, we’ll see what happens going forward. I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself, trying to stay in the moment.”

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The Flyers play their first game post-trade deadline on Sunday when the Detroit Red Wings come to town at 6 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).