Rangers’ downward spiral continues with 5th straight loss, 3-1 to Flyers

The Thanksgiving leftovers weren’t even out of the microwave before the New York Rangers found themselves down a pair of goals against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday afternoon in what turned into their fifth consecutive loss, 3-1 at Wells Fargo Center.

Philadelphia scored twice in 70 seconds early in the first period and never looked back. Bobby Brink made it 1-0 at 3:14, and Travis Konecny scored his 12th of the season to double the lead.

The Rangers were outshot 15-4 in the opening period, continuing a worrisome trend that’s been around for most of the season but has been exasperated over the last two weeks.

The lackluster start led coach Peter Laviolette to juggle his lines, which led to some life in the middle period. The line of Artemi Panarin, Trocheck, and Will Cuylle established the forecheck before Cuylle hit Trocheck from the top of the slot. Trocheck’s wrist shot beat Ivan Fedotov to make it 2-1. It was his first goal since Nov. 14 against San Jose.

However, New York failed to generate much offensively in the third period, outside a few one-off chances. Mika Zibenejad had a pair of looks, including one late in the game with goaltender Igor Shesterkin pulled, but couldn’t convert with an almost empty net. It was a microcosm of No. 93’s season to date.

“We didn’t have an answer for them, for what they were doing – their speed, their rush, their forecheck,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “By the third (period), we were better. But they were playing a different game, as well. … They were trying to protect something and that forces a different game.”

Shesterkin excels in 3-1 loss to Flyers

The Rangers continued to get exceptional goaltending from Igor Shesterkin, who shut the door after the two early goals and was the only reason they had a chance to tie or win the game. He finished with 32 saves and has faced at least 31 shots in each of his last four games. He’s lost all four, dropping his record to 8-8-1.

Blueshirts also failed to earn a power play, a worrying stat for a team that relies so much on its scoring prowess with the man advantage. The Rangers’ 69 power plays this season are the fourth-fewest in the NHL.

The start Friday was eye-opening and a bit hard to fathom after the week and struggles the team has had since midway through its Western Canada a week ago.

“Nobody’s happy,” Laviolette said. “I’m not happy. The players aren’t happy.

“We’ve got to be better. There’s an expectation for us to be successful and to win games. The fact that we we’ve kicked up some ground here and lost games, nobody’s happy about that. It’s not good enough. We’re not good enough defensively. We haven’t been good enough offensively. Special teams can be better.”

Those struggles have raised the temperature a bit as reports have surfaced of GM Chris Drury looking to make a move to shake up the team’s core. Friday’s performance did little to counter those possible desires.

The Rangers will have a chance to turn the page and put a stop to their slide Saturday afternoon against Montreal at Madison Square Garden.

Laviolette knows improvement will be needed in all areas of the game.

“Everything can be better,” he said. “The players – we can all be better. The whole group can be better here with what we’re doing.”