Game Day Preview #79: Flyers vs. Rangers

Siobhan Nolan

Apr 11, 2024

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Siobhan Nolan

Apr 11, 2024

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The Philadelphia Flyers head back up to Madison Square Garden to finish off their four-game trip against the New York Rangers, as they look to get some wins back as they head into the last three games of the regular season.

The Philadelphia Flyers head back up to Madison Square Garden to finish off their four-game trip against the New York Rangers, as they look to get some wins back as they head into the last three games of the regular season.

They're still in the race for a playoff spot, so the Flyers will be firing on all cylinders to keep themselves in the mix as long as possible, especially since they proved during these two teams' last meeting that they have no problem keeping with this Rangers side.

No Quitting

Captain Sean Couturier said after the Flyers' morning skate that even though the team has experienced "a tough stretch at a bad point in the season," they're not letting recent results keep them from giving their all on the ice for their remaining games.

"We're still in it, you don't know what could happen here, especially the way our division has been going all year," Couturier said of the message relayed to the team from head coach John Tortorella. "There's no quitting. Even in the last game, I don't believe we quit. Yeah, we're maybe stupid at times and made dumb decisions that cost us big time, but there's no quitting. I think that's the key point here."

No Excuses

While the Flyers being out of gas has been a common answer as to why they haven't been getting ideal results, Couturier doesn't believe that it's an excuse for the way they've been playing.

"I don't believe in that," he said. "Every team at this point has played about the same amount of games. It's not an excuse at all, actually, because we had a lot more games earlier and I feel like a less taxing schedule these last couple weeks. So no, it's not an excuse. I think we just need to be smarter, be more responsible at this time of the year with our decisions. I think that's what's kind of cost here lately."

As for how they can get back to where they want to be in terms of performance, alternate captain Travis Konecny believes it all lies in not overthinking their game.

"I think we're just pressing a little too hard right now," he said. "We just have to take it one shift at a time, we've gotta break it down to the basics. Honestly, I think we've just gotta go back to having fun and not worrying about the outside noise. We're in the spot we're in right now, and we'll see what happens."

No Intimidation

Seeing the Rangers on the schedule after an eight-game losing streak could easily make this team nervous, but they've proven in the teams' previous meeting that they can keep up with this team over 60 minutes, plus overtime. While they lost in OT last time, they mounted a seriously impressive comeback away from home against one of the league's best teams.

With the Rangers having clinched their playoff spot with that OT win against the Flyers, it's entirely possible that they might take their foot off the gas pedal in order to not overexert themselves with the postseason being so close. The Flyers may look unassuming because of their recent record, but as long as they're still mathematically in it, they're going to keep fighting.

Flyers Projected Lines:

Forwards:

Tyson Foerster - Morgan Frost - Travis Konecny

Owen Tippett - Scott Laughton - Bobby Brink

Cam Atkinson - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway

Joel Farabee - Sean Couturier - Noah Cates

Defense:

Cam York - Travis Sanheim

Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale

Marc Staal - Erik Johnson

Starting Goalie:

Sam Ersson