Georgiev helps Rangers get back on track against Flyers

NEW YORK » Alexandar Georgiev stopped 26 shots, Pavel Buchnevich and rookie Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist, and the New York Rangers beat the Flyers 4-1 Friday night for their fifth win in seven games.

Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil also scored and Artemi Panarin had two assists to help the Rangers bounce back one night after a 3-2 loss to the Flyers. New York pulled back to six points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division. The Rangers have eight games remaining while the Bruins have 10.

Oskar Lindblom scored the Flyers' only goal and third-string goalie Alex Lyon finished with 20 saves.

Georgiev, who improved to 8-5-2 this season, has allowed two goals or fewer in five of seven career appearances against the Flyers, including one goal or fewer in four of those games. The Bulgarianborn

goalie has won four of his last five appearances against Philadelphia including a 26save shutout in a 9-0 win in his last appearance against the Flyers on March 17 at home.

The Flyers continued their second-half swoon during the abbreviated 56-game season in which division rivals face each other eight times. Philadelphia was 11-4-3 after beating Buffalo on Feb. 28 but has gone 10-15-4 since to fall nearly out of the playoff race.

Kreider opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at 6:02 of the first, sliding the puck past Lyon. It was Kreider's 20th goal this season, marking the sixth time the veteran forward has reached that mark. It was also Kreider's 11th power-play goal this season.

Panarin and Adam Fox registered assists on Kreider's goal. It was the 100th assist as a Ranger for Panarin, who signed a free agent in July 2019. Panarin has points in eight of his last nine games against Philadelphia.