Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers Pick & Prediction APRIL 9th 2025

Preview and Prediction

The downfall of the New York Rangers commenced in the latter part of November and persisted for just over a month.

After months of striving to catch up and regain a spot in the playoffs, the situation is becoming dire for the Rangers as they prepare to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night.

The Rangers (36-34-7, 79 points) had a strong start to the season, going 12-4-1 through Nov. 19, but then suffered a steep decline, losing 15 out of 19 games.

Despite a 10-game points streak in January, the Rangers have had mediocre results and will enter their second-to-last home game with at least a six-point deficit behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild-card spot, as of Tuesday.

The final game of the Rangers' 10-game points streak was a dominant 6-1 victory over the Flyers on home ice on Jan. 23. Since then, the Rangers have gone 12-14-3 in their last 29 games, and their performance has only worsened in recent weeks.

The Rangers briefly moved into a playoff position on March 15 after a 4-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road. However, since then, they have gone 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, including a 5-1 loss on home ice to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, where they collapsed defensively in just 1 minute and 45 seconds in the first period, allowing three goals from close range.

This was the Rangers' second consecutive loss by at least four goals and their 11th of the season. Despite having 39 shots on goal, the Rangers only managed to score one power-play goal from Mika Zibanejad, bringing their total to just four goals in their last 55 power-play opportunities in the past 20 games.

The Rangers have also struggled defensively, allowing three power-play goals in each of their last two games, and their opponents have scored eight goals on 19 power-play opportunities in the past six games.

"We need to start winning games," said Artemi Panarin, the Rangers' leading scorer. "We're not doing that, and if we continue to play like this, we won't make the playoffs."

"We can't just wait and see what happens," added Rangers forward Jonny Brodzinski. "We need to win all of our remaining games, and even then, we'll still need some help. It's frustrating to be in this position."

The Flyers (31-37-9, 71 points) have played four games since firing their coach, John Tortorella, and replacing him with Brad Shaw on March 27.

After a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on the road, the Flyers were just four points behind the second wild-card spot, but then went on a 2-10-1 losing streak, causing them to fall out of contention. Tortorella had expressed reluctance about leading a team in the midst of a rebuilding phase.

Under Shaw, the Flyers have gone 3-1-0 and have scored 17 goals in those games, which is five fewer than they scored during their losing streak under Tortorella.

Their three-game winning streak was snapped in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, extending their road losing streak to six games (0-5-1). The Flyers allowed three goals in the third period, officially eliminating them from playoff contention for the fifth consecutive season.

"Being up by one going into the third period on the road is a good situation, and any team would take that," said Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson. "So it's disappointing that we couldn't find a way to get the win."

Tyson Foerster, who has scored three goals since the coaching change, scored a power-play goal, while Ryan Poehling, who has seven goals in his last eight games, scored for the fourth time since the coaching change.

Rookie Matvei Michkov has also been playing well for the Flyers, scoring four goals in his last six games before Saturday.

PREDICTION

Philadelphia Flyers

2

4

New York Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers Recap APR 23TH 2021