Things are starting to look up on Broadway. Since the turn of the calendar year, the Rangers have been playing a better brand of hockey. They continued their surge in the standings with a methodical 6-1 win over the Flyers at 33rd and 7th. Combined with the Blue Jackets losing to the Hurricanes and the Bruins defeating the Senators, they now sit just a point out of the second wild card.

The biggest reason for the turnaround has been the stellar play of Igor Shesterkin. He won his fourth straight start by turning aside 33 of 34 shots in another strong showing. He’s only permitted one goal on 81 shots over the last three games. Since he returned against the Devils on Jan. 9, Shesterkin is 6-0-1 with a 1.39 goals-against-average (GAA), .948 save percentage, and two shutouts. He was on his game in a busy second period stopping all 17 Flyers’ shots.

With Shesterkin holding up his end of the bargain, he got plenty of support from his teammates. In fact, all six defensemen registered a point in the win – making it the first time that’s happened for the Rangers in a game since Dec. 8, 2019. K’Andre Miller had his best game of the season, scoring a goal and picking up an assist to lead the way. He was strong defensively along with partner Will Borgen, who continues to provide a steady presence on the blue line.

Braden Schneider scored his first goal since Oct. 22. It came at a crucial time in the first period. With the Rangers already trailing the Flyers on the scoreboard due to Owen Tippett finishing off a three-on-one rush just 85 seconds in, Schneider answered by pinching down and having his pass for Reilly Smith bank in past Samuel Ersson to tie the game at the nine-minute mark. Arthur Kaliyev made a strong play on the wall to keep the play alive for Schneider, who has points in two straight games.

Following the goal, the fourth line made an impact again. On a strong forecheck from all three forwards, Adam Fox got the puck over for a Ryan Lindgren point shot that Adam Edstrom tipped in for a 2-1 lead at 10:24. Both he and Matt Rempe were camped out in front of Ersson, who never saw the shot. It’s been the play of that line that’s been at the center of the Rangers’ resurgence.

Sam Carrick was again very effective at even strength finishing with four shots in 11:51 of ice time. The chemistry he has with Edstrom and Rempe has provided exactly what Rangers coach Peter Laviolette wanted. They get pucks in deep and make things happen. For that reason, they each have seen an increase in ice time, with Rempe logging 9:29 and Edstrom getting a lucky 11:11. What makes them so effective is that they are willing to do the dirty work. There aren’t many skaters on the roster that can bring that to the table. The Flyers had problems with that line all night.

Similar to the start, the Flyers looked to jump on the Rangers when the second period began. After a close call from Bobby Brink, Shesterkin aggressively came out to stop Cam York and then Travis Sanheim. In the process, his mask came off. With him out of the net and the Flyers still in possession, play continued until the Rangers got possession for a stoppage. The rule is that a play is allowed to continue if there’s a scoring chance. Once the opponent touches the puck, then they blow it dead. It was a dangerous moment for Shesterkin, who likes to gamble.

Kaliyev made a good read in his end to send Filip Chytil into the offensive zone. After he toe dragged a Flyers’ defender, he waited before sending the puck across for a Chris Kreider one-timer that just missed from a tough angle. They had Ersson dead to rights, but Kreider couldn’t finish it off. Since Kaliyev has started to get more comfortable, that line has become more of a threat offensively. Chytil’s game-breaking speed makes it tough on opponents. He’s by far the Rangers’ most explosive center. They tend to get favorable matchups, which they can exploit.

On a dominant shift from the top line, Artemi Panarin danced around the Flyers’ zone before threading a pass to Will Borgen. He then found Miller, who let go of a shot that beat a screened Ersson to increase the lead to 3-1 at 4:44. On the play, Vincent Trocheck went to the front of the net and battled legally without making any contact with Ersson, who never saw Miller’s shot. That’s exactly the kind of play the Rangers are now doing. There was a long stretch where they didn’t make it hard on goalies. That’s no longer the case.

On the next shift, they nearly made it 4-1. But Ersson stopped Will Cuylle after making a save on Mika Zibanejad. The Flyers began to press the action. They had the puck in for an extended shift that produced a couple of scoring chances. But Shesterkin wasn’t about to allow the gritty Garnet Hathaway beat him from in close. He’d later come up with a big save on Brink. He continued to make timely stops to keep the Flyers from cutting the deficit to one.

Despite outplaying the Rangers and holding a 17-8 edge in shots, the Flyers still trailed 3-1 after two. The third was a different story completely.

Having come close earlier, Chytil finally got one when he deflected in an Urho Vaakanainen shot to make it 4-1 at 5:15. Miller helped set it up to pick up a secondary assist. It was his second two-point game of the season. Very quietly, he has a three-game point streak (1-3-4). If they ever needed a player to heat up, it’s Miller. He’s been more active on both sides of the puck. In what’s been a down season for him, there’s still some time left to finish strong and help the team make the playoffs.

The top line had a dominant shift when they had the Flyers on fumes. The passing from Panarin was on point. Both Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere were denied by Ersson. When an exhausted Hathaway finally got the puck out of the zone, Panarin took a bad interference minor. At times, he will take undisciplined penalties. Even though it didn’t matter, he has to avoid those in the future. With the Avalanche visiting on championship Sunday, that’s advisable. If they finally want to win three in a row for the first time in two months, they’ll need to stay out of the box. We’ll see if they can put together a winning streak.

With Flyers coach John Tortorella lifting Ersson for a six-on-four, Fox had his shot go into the empty net for a shorthanded goal with 3:07 remaining. Judging from his reaction, he had no interest in celebrating. It was his third goal of the season. Two of which have come into vacated cages. While he’s back to putting up points, it’s his defensive play that’s really picked up. Fox is coming back and making much better reads in his zone. When he’s on his game, that makes the Rangers a much better team.

On a late power play drawn by Trocheck, the second unit struck to turn this one into a laugher. Lafreniere had his wrist shot stopped by Ersson, who didn’t know where it was. The puck was still loose, allowing Reilly Smith to jam it home for his 10th. Both Lafreniere and Chytil picked up helpers.

For at least one night, the season looks back on track. There’s still a lot of work to be done. It will get harder when the Avalanche come in this weekend for one of those 1 PM matinees. Then, the Hurricanes pay a visit next Tuesday. If you want to use a measuring stick, those are two games to go by. Let’s see exactly where the Rangers are. The test starts in two days.