There was no postgame word from the Rangers on how long the forward will be out.
"It's tough," New York center Mika Zibanejad said. "I don't know how to put it into words really. Obviously a key player, key guy in the locker room and on the ice, obviously for our line and the rest of the team. It just [stinks]."
Kreider blocked a low shot from Flyers defenseman Philippe Myers in the right circle of the defensive zone with 7:40 remaining in the period. He hobbled to the bench and played one more shift that lasted 10 seconds.
The Flyers scored twice in the second period and two times in the third period.
"We missed him for sure," Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev said.
Kreider had 45 points (24 goals, 21 assists) in 63 games this season, including 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 34 games since Dec. 8, but none in the past five games including Friday. The 28-year-old agreed to terms on a seven-year contract worth $6.5 million per season on Monday. He could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
New York had won nine of its prior 10 games and could have tied the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers played 13 games without Zibanejad, their top center, from Oct. 29-Nov. 25 and went 8-4-1. New York hosts Philadelphia on Sunday (noon ET; NBC, TVAS).
"We've proven we can overcome losing one of our top players and we're going to have to do it again," New York coach David Quinn said. "Listen, teams throughout the League are handling injuries, and we've been pretty fortunate for the most part this season for injuries."
