Matvei Michkov scores but Flyers fall flat in 6-2 home loss to Rangers

Oh well.

Despite having the Eastern Conference’s worst team, the New York Rangers, at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and riding high after a comeback shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the Flyers were trounced 6-2.

Matvei Michkov scored the Flyers’ first goal on a power play in the second period. After Travis Konecny — who returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury — had his shot tipped on goal by Owen Tippett, Michkov made a heads-up play to tap the long rebound back to the point for the reset.

A few seconds later, Trevor Zegras set up Jamie Drysdale for a point shot that bounced its way to the front. Michkov, standing at his usual spot at the right post, swooped in and tucked the puck in around the pipe. Michkov now has 16 goals and 33 points in 62 games, including three goals and four points in the seven games since the Olympic break.

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Sean Couturier made it 6-2 late in the third period with his seventh goal of the season. The Flyers had some offensive zone pressure, and Cam York passed it deep to Luke Glendening along the end boards. He chipped it over to Nikita Grebenkin, who sent a quick backhand pass out to Couturier in front for the goal.

It is Couturier’s second goal in the past 36 games and Glendening’s first point with the Flyers after being claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

The Flyers’ defense struggled all night, especially with those weak-side goals coach Rick Tocchet has stressed. It eventually chased Dan Vladař out of the game after he allowed six goals on 24 shots across two periods. Sam Ersson came in and saved the three shots he faced.

Flyers killer Mika Zibanejad scored twice and had an assist to up his totals to 25 goals and 49 points in 52 career games against the Orange and Black.

On his first goal that put New York up 2-0, the Rangers sent the puck up the ice from their own end that Drysdale tried to corral along the boards. But New York’s Gabe Perreault was on him, and the rookie laid a hit on the defenseman behind the Flyers’ net. Alexis Lafrenière got the puck and sent a quick pass in front to Zibanejad as he crashed the net.

Zibanejad also scored a power-play goal off a no-look behind-the-back pass by Perreault that went through defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen in the second period. It is his 14th with the man advantage against Philly and gave the Rangers a 5-1 lead

New York took a 1-0 lead 1 minute, four seconds seconds into the game on a goal by Noah Laba after they controlled the boards and cycled low on the right before rotating the puck to the left. Matthew Robertson put a high shot on goal that Vladař tried to catch, but he couldn’t snag it cleanly, and it hit off a body in front. Laba was atop the crease with Drysdale and got his stick loose in front for the tap-in.

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Lafrenière made it 3-0 with 37 seconds left in the opening frame. Vincent Trocheck put a shot on from the inside hash marks of the right circle that seemed to handcuff Vladař, sending the rebound to the left corner. As the Flyers’ defensive scheme fell apart, Zibanejad tracked the puck down and set up Lafrenière just above the slot for the quick shot off the pass.

Perreault scored his own power-play goal when Trocheck walked in and put a shot on goal, and he knocked in the rebound to make it 4-1. The Flyers’ penalty kill, after killing off five of six on Saturday, allowed three power-play goals on four opportunities.

Twenty seconds after Zibanejad scored his second, Ty Kartye made it 6-1 after a Nick Seeler giveaway on a stretch pass. The Rangers got to work, and eventually Vladislav Gavrikov’s point shot was deflected in by Kartye as he cut through the slot.

Seeler returned from a lower-body injury sustained a week ago in Toronto. ... The Flyers put 34 shots on goal.

The Flyers host Alex Ovechkin on Wednesday in what could be his last game in Philly when they face the Washington Capitals (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max).