Rangers return from break, blow 2-goal lead, lose 3-2 in OT to Flyers

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The vibes were all positive to start at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. But in the end, the New York Rangers’ home-ice misery this season continued, when they let a two-goal lead slip away in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in their first game after the three-week Olympic break.

Matvei Michkov sprung out of the penalty box, accepted a pass in the neutral zone, danced around J.T. Miller, and beat Igor Shesterkin between the pads 2:09 into overtime to cap Philly’s comeback.

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The goal was Michkov’s second of the game, and 15th of the season. It came after the Rangers failed to score on a 4-on-3 power play in OT, after Michkov was penalized for goaltender interference with 8.6 seconds remaining in regulation.

It was the fifth straight loss for the Rangers (22-29-7), who held a pregame ceremony to honor five members of the organization who helped the United States win the gold medal at the just-completed Milan-Cortina Olympics. The five included Miller and Vincent Trocheck, coach Mike Sullivan, assistant David Quinn, and general manager Chris Drury, who was part of Team USA’s management group.

Adding to the upbeat atmosphere were the returns of Shesterkin and top-pair defenseman Adam Fox to the Rangers lineup. It was the first night back for Shesterkin and Fox, after each sustained a lower-body injury in the same game on Jan. 5.

And on top of that, the Rangers started fast and held a 2-0 lead halfway through the game. But winning at MSG is not that simple for the Rangers this season. So, the good vibes eventually melted away. And they’re now 6-15-5 at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

The Rangers were also gifted the first goal of the game, but only after they stormed out of the gate and dominated the first half of the first period. Samuel Ersson gave up a simply terrible goal at 9:56, allowing Sam Carrick’s unscreened flip from along the right-wing boards to somehow beat him five-hole to make it 1-0 Rangers.

What made that goal even more shocking, is that Ersson was Philly’s best player to start the game, up until that point. On the first shift of the contest, he made a spectacular lunging save to deny Fox off a 4-on-1 zone entry by the Rangers, after a Flyers turnover at center ice. Shortly thereafter, Ersson made another huge stop, robbing Brendan Brisson — making his Rangers debut — on the doorstep.

The Rangers won pretty much every puck battle early on and deserved their lead. The Flyers provided some pushback finally later in the period, notably a point-blank look for Jamie Drysdale that Shesterkin handled.

Alexis Lafreniere doubled the Rangers lead 1:23 into the second period. He found a soft spot in front of the Flyers net, and finished a neat passing sequence from Will Cuylle and Trocheck for his 13th goal of the season.

The visitors turned the tide after Lafreniere’s goal, outshot the Rangers 10-5 in the second, and got a goal back at 10:26 to make it 2-1. With New York’s Conor Sheary in the penalty box serving a high-sticking minor, Michkov buried a neat backdoor feed from Noah Cates.

Trevor Zegras scored the equalizer on the first shift of the third period, going bar down over Shesterkin’s blocker on an odd-man rush at the 39-second mark.

Penalties assessed to Lafreniere — at 7:28 for slashing — and Vladislav Gavrikov — for high-sticking at 14:40 –gave the Flyers a pair of power plays after Zegras tied the game. But Philly did nothing with the opportunities, though Shesterkin had to make one stellar save, denying Cates point blank with Gavrikov in the box.

Then Michkov crashed into Shesterkin with about 50 seconds left in the third period, but the Rangers played keep away with the puck so that the Flyers couldn’t touch up to get the whistle. That allowed the Rangers extra 4-on-3 power-play time in OT, though, of course, to no avail.

Next up, the Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon, trying yet again to break the Garden hex.

Key takeaways after Rangers lose 3-2 in overtime to Flyers

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Rude welcome back

The Rangers lost 11 of 13 games when Shesterkin and Fox were sidelined most of January and into the start of February. Returning on the same night after the Olympic break appeared to be just what the doctor ordered for the Blueshirts. Until it wasn’t, of course.

Shesterkin stopped 21 of 24 shots, though he probably wants the OT goal by Michkov back, beaten 1-on-1 on a quick release. But make no mistake, Shesterkin was still plenty good. The 30-year-old was particularly sharp in the second period, when he made nine saves, including three in one wild flurry just a few minutes into the frame. A couple minutes later, he lunged to his left to make a sparkling save to rob Cates on a power-play rebound attempt.

The Rangers No. 1 goalie told reporters he “felt pretty good, except for the result.”

Fox logged a game-high 24:59 TOI, and was caught up ice when Zegras scored the tying goal in the third period. The 27-year-old defenseman didn’t record a point and failed to get the sleepy-looking power play — which was 0-for-3 — going as its quarterback.

“i thought it was O.K.,” Sullivan said postgame about the play of Shesterkin and Fox. “I think they’re capable of another level.”

Sam, I am

Carrick’s fourth goal of the season was gift-wrapped, no doubt. But when you’re among the hardest-working players on the team, you deserve one of these breaks. And he sure didn’t let the goal give him a swollen head.

The 34-year-old continued to do what he does, even though he played just 11 shifts and totaled 7:57 TOI. He and linemates Brisson and Brennan Othmann were effective on the forecheck early on and got pucks to the net.

When Othmann was caught in the jaw on a check by Garnet Hathaway late in the first period, in came Carrick to challenge the rugged Flyers forward to a fight. Not only that, Carrick landed the cleanest punch in the exchange, yet again stepping up for his teammates.

You’ve got to love this guy.

Experimenting

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Sullivan gave Othmann some time on the penalty kill early in the game, and Noah Laba played 3:33 on the PK. Good opportunity for each kid. Then there was the second power-play unit, which featured youngsters Laba, Cuylle, Brisson, and Gabe Perreault, along with Gavrikov, the veteran defenseman. Again, good on the coach for creating these chances for the kids.

Also, Sullivan tried Braden Schneider on his off (left) side, partnered with Will Borgen on the second defense pair. They were on for New York’s two goals and each finished plus-two. Borgen had an assist on Carrick’s goal.

Schneider looked comfortable on his off side, though he and Borgen got worked several times by the Flyers in the second and third periods. Still, the 24-year-old totaled 22:34 TOI, including nearly five minutes on the penalty kill, and led the Rangers with three blocked shots and tied for second with three shots on goal.

This is just the start of the coach’s experimenting over the final six weeks of the season.

The Olympians

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Miller and Trocheck bathed in the warm reception they received from the Garden Faithful during the pregame ceremony. Sullivan, too, received a roaring ovation. The same can’t be said for Drury, who was booed loudly by the fans.

Aside from a needless interference (should’ve been cross-checking) penalty in the second period, Trocheck had a pretty solid night from start to finish. He led the Rangers with six hits, had an assist, was good on the PK, though didn’t record a shot on goal.

Miller started fast, but seemed to run out of steam. He was exhausted after being on ice for the entire power play in overtime and beaten easily by the fresh Michkov on the game-deciding goal. Miller won 7 of 11 face-offs, but didn’t record a shot on goal and was not noticeable much of the game.

Mika Zibanejad, who played for Sweden in the Olympic Games, was credited with a team-high nine shot attempts, though only three were on goal. He missed the net badly on a clean look from the left circle in OT, and was without a point in this one.

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