March 9, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad (93) and goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin (31) celebrate their victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Image The New York Rangers, who are coming off a disappointing season, will look to come home with an emphatic win when they face the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
The Rangers, last in the Eastern Conference and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, put on a dominant performance Monday in a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
New York took advantage of a three-goal lead in the opening period, stretched it to 6-1 in the middle frame and cruised to its third win in five outings (3-1-1).
“It’s always nice to get that kind of lead and that kind of start,” said forward Mika Zibanejad, who had two goals from 3-point range. “It feels better to win than to lose. With the situation we’re in and the situation we’re in, all we can do is try to win and beat (the butt).”
The Rangers didn’t look like bottom feeders against the Flyers, whose playoff hopes were damaged by the loss. The initial explosion was key.
“We have to be proactive, not reactive,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “The last few games we’ve given up early leads. We fought back, but we’ve got to be better when the puck drops. I’ve always been a strong believer that that’s the mindset.”
It also helped that he scored a season-high three power play goals. The Rangers had recorded just two man advantage markers in their previous six games.
“We made good decisions and we executed,” Sullivan said. “We have a lot of talent and we handled their pressure well.”
The Flames remain one point behind the Rangers in the NHL standings after losing 7-3 to the Washington Capitals on Monday, ending their five-game road trip.
Calgary, ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks in the overall standings, has only four wins (4-8-3) in its last 15 games.
As bad as the result against Washington was, Calgary erased a three-goal deficit in the second and gave up four unanswered points in the third period in the final 10 minutes.
“We missed one in what I thought was a good comeback in the game,” Flames coach Ryan Huska said. “Those guys want to find a way to win.”
Calgary holds the NHL’s worst road record at 9-19-3. And the Flames are unlikely to improve much after dealing key veterans Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar ahead of last Friday’s trade deadline.
Nonetheless, I expect them to fight hard in every game.
“This is going to be the story of our team. There will be no giving up in this room,” said forward Blake Coleman, who scored one of the team’s two short-handed goals against Washington. “We’re going to have guys fighting every night. We had momentum going into the third period, but we didn’t capitalize on it.”
Calgary has won three straight against the Rangers, including a 5-1 home win last October.
“Move quickly.” Coleman said. “Because it is a series of trips, I expect to come out of this, recover, and try well in the future,” he said.
–Field level media
