Konecny's 2 goals help Flyers hand Rangers 5th straight loss

PHILADELPHIA -- Travis Konecny scored two goals for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3-1 win against the New York Rangers at Wells Fargo Center on Friday.

Bobby Brink also scored for Philadelphia (11-10-3), which has earned a point in four straight (3-0-1) and is 7-2-2 in its past 11 games. Ivan Fedotov made 22 saves.

"I thought right from the get-go we were on our toes, our [defensemen] were up in the neutral zone," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "We had good pinches. I thought right on through the game, I thought we played really well."

Vincent Trocheck scored for New York (12-9-1), which lost its fifth straight game (outscored 21-10). Igor Shesterkin made 32 saves.

The losing streak is New York's longest this season.

"We weren't very good today," Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. "We talked about putting ourselves in a good position going into the third. Got a goal in the second to get ourselves into the game but couldn't find that one in the third to tie it up.

"That's just how it's been going for us. We've got to try to find a stop. Guys are working, guys want to find a stop for this and get back on the right path."

The Flyers were the better team in the first period, scoring two goals and outshooting the Rangers 15-4. New York didn't get a shot on goal for the first 11:09 of the game.

"From the get-go I think we were on our toes and dictating the game," Philadelphia forward Noah Cates said. "And that's kind of how we always want to play."

Brink made it 1-0 at 3:14. Flyers forward Tyson Foerster blocked a shot by Rangers defenseman Adam Fox at the Philadelphia blue line, poked the puck past him, outraced him to the puck in the Rangers end and centered it to a charging Brink.

Brink matched his NHL best with four shots on goal in 13:48 of ice time. He also played well away from the puck, including a sequence midway through the third period where he outmuscled forward Artemi Panarin, New York's leading scorer, pushing him out of the Philadelphia zone back into the Rangers' zone.

"That was one of Bobby Brink's better games away from the puck, with the puck, created a lot of turnovers," Tortorella said. "He's checking better. I think he's more aware of his play away from the puck. Puck follows him offensively. I'm not worried about his offense. Is he going to allow me to keep playing him in situations? ... He's got to instill that confidence in me with his play away from the puck without hurting his offensive play."

The goal was Brink's first in seven games, but he said he's feeling more confident as the season has gone on.

"I'm just trying to work hard and limit mistakes," he said. "I think once you kind of start making mistakes, you start losing a little confidence. So stuff was going right for me today, and it was a good game as a line [with Cates and Foerster]."

Konecny scored at 4:24 to make it 2-0. The forward took a short pass from Sean Couturier at center ice, skated past Trouba and slid the puck under Shesterkin on the backhand.

Trocheck's first goal in seven games got the Rangers within 2-1 at 10:20 of the second period, off a centering pass from Will Cuylle.

New York played most of the final 2:36 with Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker; it managed one shot on goal and had two other attempts blocked. Its best chance came when Mika Zibanejad hit the right post from in close with 2:21 remaining.

"Second [period] was a little bit better, but not much," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "Third, I thought we pushed, we had chances to tie the game and couldn't get it done. We left the game in the first period and that can't happen for a team sitting here looking for ways to win hockey games. Just the work in the first period wasn't good."

Konecny closed the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:32 of the third period.

NOTES: Konecny has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak. He has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 13 games in November, with a game at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. It's the most points in a month by a Philadelphia player since Claude Giroux had 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 15 games in March 2018. The last Flyers player with more in a single month was Giroux with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 21 games in March 2014. ... Couturier extended his point streak to four games (three goals, two assists). Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who also had an assist on Konecny's goal, also has points in four straight (four assists). It's his longest point streak in four seasons with Philadelphia. ... The Flyers ended the Rangers' six-game winning streak in Philadelphia. ... The Flyers were not whistled for a penalty for the first time this season. It's also the second time in 320 regular-season games against the Rangers the Flyers did not take a penalty; the last time was Feb. 20, 2011.