But the Flyers defenseman is a realist. At 31, he realizes this could be his first and last Olympics. Which is why he wants to make the most of this opportunity at Milano Cortina when the world’s best hit the ice.

“Very special,” he said of the appointment during a media Zoom call. “Missed the last one because the NHL didn’t go, and now you never know what’s going to happen in four years. So this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So very excited.”

The native of Turku has played in 242 games for the Flyers, with 10 goals and 61 points. For his career, the 6-foot-4, 208-pounder has accumulated 784 games, 56 goals and 306 points.

Ristolainen, 31, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on July 23, 2021. The trade sent defenseman Robert Hagg to the Sabres along with a first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Surgery had kept him out of the Flyers lineup from February to mid-December. He has played in eight games since his return, with two assists and an even plus-minus.

There might have been some doubt if Ristolainen would be ready to play in the Olympics. But he’s erased any concerns about his readiness.

“I really tried hard to make sure I get healthy,” Ristolainen said. “And to get some games in before that, too. So we have been going well and I feel healthy. It means a lot to be named.”

Paired with Nick Seeler for much of the 2024-25 season, Ristolainen was enjoying one of his best years prior to the injury. The pairing was often used in key defensive situations.

In his eight games back, Ristolainen looks like his old self. His physical play can bring fans out of their seats, and he shows no signs of letting up in that department.

He was injured for the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament in February. This Olympic appearance will help make up for any regrets.

“Injuries happen when you play a long time,” he said. “You can’t do anything about that. I was excited about 4 Nations and ended up watching it on TV. It looked pretty fun and exciting. It kind of felt bad that I couldn’t make the team.

“I’ve been working my butt off for nine months trying to get healthy and then getting in some games.”

Ristolainen believes his style fits in well with the intense Olympic tournament, especially his physical play.

“(The Olympics) are kind of like (Stanley Cup) playoff games, almost,” he said. “One winner takes it all type thing. That kind of makes it for me.”

Finland is a threat for a medal. Just about everyone has their eyes on teams like Canada, the U.S. and Sweden, but Finland is a legitimate dark horse candidate.

“A very good team,” Ristolainen said. “We have a lot of good players. Finland always has a chance and now, hopefully, we’re going there to take it all home.”

Ristolainen likes the Flyers’ chances the rest of the season.

“When we get back, that time of year, the games get even harder,” he said. “A lot to play for. The games have a lot of speed, playoff-like hockey. Coming back, feeling pretty good about myself. Getting into the playoffs with the Flyers a big goal for myself.”

Ristolainen joins fellow Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, named last week to the Canadian Olympic team, and Latvian forward Rodrigo Abols as Flyers named to Olympic rosters.

There was speculation that Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson might be named to Team Sweden’s roster, but that did not happen. Ersson has experienced a sub-par season so far with Philadelphia.

Ersson had been on Team Sweden for 4 Nations. Only one goalie from that team – Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson – made the Olympic roster. He’s joined by Wild backup Jesper Wallstedt and New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom.

Markstrom was unavailable due to injury for last February’s tournament. Linus Ullmark, currently on a personal leave of absence from the Ottawa Senators, also was on the 4 Nations roster but not the Olympic team.

But on Wednesday night, after a short flight from Vancouver, what was their excuse for a sleepy 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames?

True, they did play Tuesday night against the Canucks (a 6-3 win). But it’s not as if a short flight to Calgary was like trudging on a plane in Miami and flying to Denver or something.

No, the Flyers were coming off a four-day Christmas break from game action and laid an egg Sunday in Seattle. Still, that was better than the dreary effort put forth against the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

First, goaltender Samuel Ersson was not at his best. Second, the Flyers took too many penalties at inopportune times, with the Flames scoring twice on the power play. Finally, the Flames are almost unbeatable at home these days, having gone 10-1-1 in their last 12 at the Saddledome.

The Flyers did hit several goalposts and had one goal called back.

“Sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” coach Rick Tocchet said after the game. “I will give Calgary credit. They owned the front of the net. We didn’t box out that well tonight. They got a couple goals in front of the net.”

One thing Tocchet will never do is use the back-to-back card after a tough loss.

“It was actually good for us,” Tocchet said. “We’re trying to get our legs. So it wasn’t too bad. It was just some unfortunate things happened.”

Taking a 1-0 lead into the second period, Calgary boosted its lead to 2-0, then got some help from the officials to keep that edge.

First, Jonathan Huberdeau sent a long shot toward the net which deflected off Jamie Drysdale and past Ersson at 3:08.

Then the Flyers thought they had a goal from Nick Seeler. But officials ruled goaltender interference by the Flyers’ Carl Grundstrom, so that goal went by the boards.

Following that confusion, the Flyers scored a goal that stood. From a scramble in front, Travis Konecny poked in a short entry which found its way past goalie Dustin Wolf at 8:49.

Calgary restored its two-goal edge with a five-on-three power-play goal. Rasmus Andersson did the honors at 12:03. Cam York and Christian Dvorak were in the penalty box at the time.

Later, Yegor Sharangovich scored at 17:52, again on a power play, to make it 4-1.

The Flames had the only goal of the first period. Calgary put together a three-on-two rush and Mikael Backlund found open ice near the top of the left circle. Taking a pass from Matt Coronato, Backlund sent a shot inside the far post at 13:30.

It’s the 27th time the Flyers have fallen behind this season.

The Flyers did have their share of decent scoring chances. Rasmus Ristolainen rattled a pair of shots off goal posts.

In the third, Calgary made it 5-1 at 9:37. A Seeler turnover led to a Connor Zary unassisted goal.

Defense shakeup

Emil Andrae was a healthy scratch, a move which resulted in a completely redesigned look on defense. Noah Juulsen returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the last seven games.

In the new alignment, Travis Sanheim was paired with Drysdale and Cam York hooked up with Rasmus Ristolainen. The final pairing had Juulsen with Seeler.

Tocchet was blunt in his assessment of Andrae’s recent play.

“I just think he needs a reset,” Tocchet said. “I think his game has been slipping a bit and we’re trying to get some new people in there.

Welcome home

Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar received a nice ovation in his first visit back to his former team. Vladar played with the Flames from 2021-25. He was 47-32-15 with a 2.98 goals-against average during that span.

Big celebration in a small town

There was plenty of cheering Wednesday in the small town of Elkhorn, Manitoba, when it was announced native son Travis Sanheim, the top defenseman on the Flyers, had been named to Canada’s Olympic team.

“I know they’re super proud,” Sanheim said in a mid-afternoon Zoom media call. “I’ve already received over a hundred text messages. It’s the support they’ve shown me, it means so much.

“I never thought as a kid coming from the small town I was in I would even make the NHL, let alone the Olympics. Just a crazy experience and very proud to come from a community like that. To have the support to go back. … I’m sure they will be watching every second. The town will be in red and white. It’s so special to come from a community like that.”

A big hit by Tippett

Owen Tippett dropped a big hit on Calgary’s Yan Kuznetsov in the first period, perhaps with the motive of getting his team going.

“Any time you get a hit like that, it gets you in the game early,” Tippett said in a first intermission interview. “We just need to stick to our game and we’ll be all right.”

The Flyers only had three shots in the first period.

“We just need to get bodies to the front,” was Tippett’s response to that number. “Hopefully we just put the puck there.”

Short shots

The Flyers complete their four-game road trip on Saturday night at Edmonton. Flyers entered the game leading the NHL in comeback win with 14. No else had more than 11. … Since 2000, the Flames have a league-leading New Year’s Eve games mark of 14-4-2.

Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com

Hockey Canada’s general manager Doug Armstrong revealed the team at a press conference. Sanheim is in an eight-man defense corps that includes Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty, Dallas’ Thomas Harley, St. Louis’ Colton Parayko, Colorado’s Cale Makar and Devon Toews, Vegas’ Shea Theodore and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey.

During a 3 p.m. Zoom call with media from Calgary, Sanheim said he was happy to receive the telephone call from Armstrong, even though it came around 8 a.m. after he didn’t get to bed until around 2 a.m. following the team flight from Vancouver.

“Not a lot of sleep,” he said with a smile. “I was aware a potential phone call was coming. Just the excitement level and receiving that, what it means to represent your country and be a part of something like the Olympics, it’s (OK) for a sleepless night to get a phone call like that.”

The 29-year-old put himself in position to be named to the Olympic roster after he competed in last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament, which Canada won.

“The skill, the speed, what little space there was to generate in,” Sanheim said of the international competition. “I expect much the same at the Olympics. I think just being able to play at that level, compete and show that I belong meant a lot moving forward. It made me feel like I could be a part of the Olympic team, just continue to get better. I’m really looking forward to the next challenge.”

The Elkhorn, Manitoba, native was selected by the Flyers in the first round (17th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. In nine seasons, he has played in 617 NHL games with 57 goals and 230 points. He’s tied for fourth in the Flyers’ all-time points list for defensemen, behind Mark Howe, Eric Desjardins and Kimmo Timonen.

This season, he has played in all 38 Flyers games with three goals, 17 points and a plus-4.

His Flyers teammate on the 4 Nations roster, Travis Konecny, was left off Canada’s Olympic lineup.

Sanheim looks forward to getting started. Wednesday, he had a chance to look back. Obviously he’s proud of what he’s accomplished.

“I’m not the type of person to really reflect on that,” he said. “And yet I was watching video of myself today, just sitting there proud as can be that I was one of those names named.

“Just looking back a couple years and where my career’s kind of come. Never thought this day would happen. Just goes to show the work, the dedication that I’ve had and put into this game. … Just trying to get better each and every day. I feel I can continue to grow my game. To be able to play in the Olympics is really special. Something I never thought was possible.”

In a Dec. 6 interview, Sanheim said playing in the Olympics is something he’s dreamed about since he was a kid.

“It’s definitely a dream,” Sanheim said. “It’s one that you think is pretty farfetched. I think first and foremost you want to make the NHL and that’s your ultimate goal.

“But actually I think the Olympics are kind of on the next level. That’s the best against the best, and being able to represent your country. So definitely something that a lot of kids dream about.”

Sanheim was asked how cool would it be to play for a gold medal. Pittsburgh superstar Sidney Crosby, who scored the winning goal in overtime for Canada in Vancouver at the 2010 Games, has said that rated right up with his three Cup titles.

“Just to be able to play at that level, play against the best players in the world and play with the best players in the world, just that experience alone would be something that’s very valuable,” Sanheim said.

Sanheim will be playing for his Flyers coach, Rick Tocchet, who will serve as one of Canada head man Jon Cooper’s assistants. That should make things a bit easier. Sanheim played for Tocchet at 4 Nations.

“Having played 4 Nations, you kind of build those relationships up,” Sanheim said of the Canada staff for Milan-Cortina.

Technically, Sanheim will be working directly with Canada assistant and defense boss Peter DeBoer, a coach with plenty of NHL experience.

No doubt DeBoer will want to take advantage of Sanheim’s skating speed, his ability to make quick decisions on the fly and his conditioning to log big minutes.

“It’s an ability to play a 200-foot game, to play against top guys,” Sanheim said. “And yet still contribute offensively, make plays with the puck. That’s something I’ve really worked hard at to get better at. It’s nowhere near perfect but being able to make plays under pressure can really help.”

Tocchet believes Sanheim has the right stuff to make his country’s elite squad.

“I think it’s huge to make the Olympic team,” Tocchet said. “Everyone wants to make money and all that sort of stuff. But when you put on a Canadian jersey or an American jersey or whatever, it is special.”

The defenseman was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Philip Tomasino. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere announced that Tomasino will report to their American Hockey League affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Zamula was signed as a free agent by the Flyers in 2018. He spent parts of six seasons with the team, playing in 168 NHL games. He recorded eight goals and 41 points.

Tomasino, 24, was selected by the Nashville Predators in the first round (24th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He was traded last year to the Penguins for a draft pick. The right wing has appeared in 218 NHL games with Nashville and Pittsburgh, totaling 34 goals and 95 points.

During the 2024-25 season with the Penguins, the 6-foot, 187-pound forward recorded 11 goals and 23 points, ranking second on the team with a career-high six game-winning goals, trailing only Sidney Crosby in that category.

This season, Tomasino has appeared in nine NHL games, registering one assist. He has five goals and 15 points in 14 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while leading the club in plus/minus at plus-12.

At least that’s the way coach Rick Tocchet sees it as the Team Canada roster for the 2026 Games will be announced at 12 noon Wednesday.

Tocchet, who will be an assistant coach for Canada, fully expects Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim to be named to the Canada lineup for play at Milano Cortina, Italy in February.

Sanheim is enjoying an exceptional year for Philadelphia. He’s been among the NHL’s top five/10 for ice time for much of the season and is a big reason why the Flyers have been holding onto a playoff spot for a lot of December.

The thing is, Tocchet knows what to expect from Sanheim and the player knows what to expect from his coach.

“He’s a guy who can play 25 minutes,” Tocchet said prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Canucks at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena. “It’s hard to find those guys. When he’s on his game, he’s a really tough defender, can wheel the net, a real good skater.”

Tocchet, who coached Vancouver last season, was on the 4-Nations Faceoff Tournament last February and had his first good look at Sanheim behind the Canada bench.

“All I remember from the 4-Nations was when he went in the lineup, he really played well,” Tocchet said.

Comfort level can be important. Working with head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay), Tocchet knows how to use Sanheim in particular situations. That can be a big plus toward the end of tight games.

And Tocchet also built more relationships with other players at the 4-Nations event. Those can come in handy.

“I’m not going to lie, the 4-Nations helped me with relationships, too,” Tocchet said. “I’ll be honest with you, though, I’m in Flyer mode. For me, I’m all in right now with the Flyers. But once Feb. 6 is (here), I’m all Canada. I’ll be trying to win a gold medal.”

Tocchet also was asked about roster construction for Canada. Some believe the best alignment is to have some two-way players on the roster to complement the sharpshooters.

“I think from my experience, like playing in the Canada Cup, you look for puzzles,” Tocchet said. “There might be a top six guy that you have that might be pulled for a couple games. Then he gets pumped up, might be instant offense.”

Start closing in: It might sound like a broken record but Tocchet continues to stress the need for his forwards to constantly push forward and create a strong presence in front of the opponent net.

When the Flyers resort to perimeter shooting, especially on the power play, the results aren’t too encouraging.

“I’m not going to lie, I think we’re one of the worst teams with net-front and screens and stuff,” Tocchet said. “We need some people to start going to the net. We have to start getting more interior play.”

There are things that Tocchet has appreciated over the past three games or so.

“Saying that, I do like the puck movement,” the coach said. “I love our ‘D,’ the way they move on the blue line. Things like that are good. We just have to start getting people in front.”

Travel issues related to winter weather prompted the postponement, according to a news release from the American Hockey League.

The game will instead be played Monday at 7:05 p.m., the AHL said.

Six players from the Flyers will be competing in the tournament, which will be held in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., starting Friday and finishing Jan. 5. Four of the Flyers brightest young prospects – Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk, Porter Martone and Carson Bjarnason – will represent Team Canada.

Heikki Ruohonen is listed on Team Finland’s roster. Jack Berglund was selected to play for Team Sweden. There are no Flyers prospects on Team USA.

Luchanko and Bonk are perhaps the two closest to joining the Flyers on a full-time basis at some point in the next year or so. Luchanko already became the youngest player ever to play for the Flyers when he started four games as an 18-year-old at the beginning of the 2024-25 season.

This year he has registered a total of 25 points in 17 games splitting Ontario Hockey League time between the Guelph Storm and the Brantford Bulldogs. The Flyers took him during the first round (13th overall) in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.

Bonk, the son of former NHL star Radek Bonk, will be playing in his second straight WJC for Canada. A first-round draft pick in 2024, Bonk has been a part of two straight London Knights’ Memorial Cup championships and is now playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

The Flyers also have high hopes for Bjarnason, who has excelled in goal the past few seasons. This year with the Phantoms, he’s 7-3-2 with a 2.58 goals-against average.

Martone, the Flyers’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft, has been having an outstanding season for Michigan State.

The 19-year-old Rhohonen has made a smooth transition from the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints to college hockey at Harvard. He’s produced a goal and five points in 11 games with the Crimson.

Berglund has impressed scouts with his skating speed and stickhandling. He’s split time between three different teams in Sweden this year. On a national league team, he generated eight goals and 15 points in 11 games.

The United States and Canada have split the last six gold medals at the tournament with Team USA having captured the last two.

The PHPA announced Monday that its ECHL membership has served a strike notice that would be effective Friday, when play is scheduled to resume following the holiday break. Players voted Friday to authorize their bargaining committee to call for a strike, executive director Brian Ramsay said Monday.

The Reading Royals are members of the ECHL and scheduled to play at the Florida Everblades in a three-game series starting Saturday.

They are scheduled to return home to Santander Arena on New Year’s Eve against the Norwalk Admirals.

“Our members have made it very clear that they’ve had enough,” Ramsay said on a video call with reporters. “Unfortunately, this is a league that would rather bully us than bargain.”

The sides appeared no closer to a resolution on Tuesday based on an update from Ramsay, even after he said the PHPA offered the option of reaching a settlement through mediation or arbitration.

“The ECHL responded within minutes, rejecting any interest in this solution and demanding ‘significant movement’ and concessions from the players,” Ramsay said in a released statement. “This approach continues to align with the increased threats our membership has faced over the past 18 hours.”

CBA talks began in January, with Ramsay accusing the league of unfair bargaining practices, including most recently contacting players directly with proposals, which have been reported to the National Labor Relations Board.

“This is a league that has taken almost a year to concede that we should be entitled to choose helmets that properly fit us and are safe,” Ramsay said. “This is the league that still supplies our members with used equipment. This is a league that shows no concern for players’ travels and in fact has said the nine-hour bus trip home should be considered your day off. We have had members this year spend 28 hours-plus on a bus to play back-to-back games on a Friday and Saturday night, only to be paid less than the referees who work those very same games.”

The ECHL posted details of its latest proposal on its website Monday, saying it calls to raise the salary cap 16.4% this season, with retroactive pay upon ratification, and increases in total player salaries in future years to pay players nearly 27% more than the current cap. The league said it has also offered larger per diems, mandatory day-off requirements and a 325-mile limit for travel between back-to-back games.

“Our approach will continue to balance the need to best support our players and maintain a sustainable business model that helps ensure the long-term success of our league so it remains affordable and accessible to fans,” the ECHL said, adding that the average ticket price is $21. “Negotiations have been progressing but not as quickly as we would like. ”We have reached a number of tentative agreements and remain focused on reaching a comprehensive new agreement that supports our players and the long-term health of every team in our league.”

Taking issue with the ECHL’s offer numbers, Ramsay said inflation would have players making less than the equivalent amount in 2018, prior to the pandemic. The league said a work stoppage would result in some games being postponed and players not being paid and losing housing and medical benefits that it pays for.

Ramsay called threats of players losing their housing if there’s a strike an unfair labor practice in itself.

“Consistently in the last six or eight weeks, teams trying to intimidate and bully our members, threaten our members with their jobs, with their housing, with their work visas if they’re from out of country — different tactics like that,” Ramsay said.

Jimmy Mazza, who played several seasons in the ECHL and is now on the negotiating committee, argued that owners do not know what it’s like to travel 29 hours in a bus or to be given a used helmet.

“The top level, you know that those players aren’t being treated that way, so why are they treating us that way?” Mazza said. “To us, it’s a little bit of a slap in the face with the way these negotiations have gone for a year, when only five days ago, we get a little bit of movement on a helmet issue when it should have been done a year ago.”

The ECHL, formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League and now going just by the acronym, is a North American developmental league that is two levels below the NHL, with the American Hockey League in between. There are 30 teams, 29 of which are in the U.S. and one in Canada in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

The AHL and PHPA have been working under the terms of their most recent CBA, which expired Aug. 31. An AHL spokesperson said the sides are very close to a new agreement.

The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association earlier this year ratified a deal that ensures labor peace through 2030.

Still, he knows quite a few of the players who competed for him as recently as last April, so his pulse had to be going a little faster.

The Canucks haven’t done well since Tocchet was let go at the end of April, the Flyers hiring him two weeks later. Heading into Monday’s game, Vancouver was tied for next-to-last in the Western Conference and 30th overall in the complete NHL standings.

Recently, though, the Canucks had won four straight and were playing much better defensively.

“That team is starting to find their way,” Tocchet said at the morning skate. “We have to be ready to play this team tonight.”

The recent trade of All-Star defenseman Quinn Hughes to Minnesota obviously caught Tocchet’s attention. Hughes’ contract is set to run out at the end of the season, and the Canucks needed young players to fill holes as they look to the future if re-signing Hughes was no longer an option.

Tocchet mentioned some of the players that he continues to have an interest in, including veteran defensemen Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers.

“Still have a relationship with those guys,” Tocchet said. “Great hockey players. I know what they do. They’re always ready to play. There is some turnover but some of their young guys have played well for them.”

Two seasons ago, Tocchet won the Jack Adams Trophy for the NHL’s best coach after Vancouver won 50 games and its first Pacific Division title. They lost in the second round to the Edmonton Oilers, the only time in three seasons that Tocchet guided them to the playoffs.

• • •

On Tuesday night, the Flyers head to Chicago for the second half of another back-to-back. They are 1-2-1 so far this year in the tail end of back-to-backs. Since the beginning of last season, the Flyers are just 2-12-2 in the second half of these situations.

“Every team goes through it,” Tocchet said. “The really good teams, you have to play tired and you’ve got to play with your brain. Good angles, play a team game. I tell the guys, don’t even use the word tired.”

• • •

After fielding about a half-dozen questions about Matvei Michkov’s recent struggles on offense, an exasperated Tocchet finally said enough was enough.

“Any guys who want to score get frustrated,” Tocchet said. “But you can’t let it affect your overall game. You have to continue to go to the spots. Keep going to the net, keep going to that slot area.”

Prior to Monday night, Michkov had connected for only eight goals in 34 games and led the team in penalty minutes with 34.

“Keep going to that slot area when we already have two guys down low,” Tocchet explained. “Like don’t go behind the net. Things like that you just have to stay with it because he will still get those chances. He had some chances against the Rangers (on Saturday). He had two halves of breakaways. Now he’s got to play a little faster and separate himself. You can’t get frustrated, you got to keep working.”

When questions persisted, Tocchet pushed back.

“What, we’re 17-10, we’ve got a good record, I’ve answered six Michkov questions,” the coach said. “Enough is enough guys. You’re trying to make something out of nothing. He’s got to learn to play the game and he’s trying.”

• • •

Tocchet gave defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen high marks for his play in the three games he’s been back after missing nine months.

“When you have a big defenseman who can move his feet, he’s physical and has a good stick,” Tocchet said. “And he’s got a great shot. (Now) It’s just about game conditioning.”

The Blueshirts trailed by two goals on two separate occasions in their Saturday afternoon matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden, but rallied late to pull off an improbable 5-4 shootout victory, giving them two crucial points in the standings.

With the win, the Rangers pulled to within one point of both the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders for the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference standings.

It wasn’t all good news, however. Team captain J.T. Miller suffered an apparent injury on the bad end of a reverse hit by Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler during the third period, went to the locker room and didn’t return.

Had coach Mike Sullivan said Miller was still being evaluated at the time of the post-game press conference, but the way he seemed to be favoring his arm or shoulder certainly didn’t seem promising.

“It’s pretty sad,” said forward Artemi Panarin, who scored the first two Rangers goals. “I don’t know what (the situation is), but I hope he’ll be all right.”

With Miller’s status moving forward uncertain — of note, the Rangers are set to face the Florida Panthers in the Winter Classic in Miami on Jan. 2 — the focus remains on the short-term, where the Original Six franchise remains somewhat unpredictable from night to night.

That trend applies to individual efforts as well, and Igor Shesterkin’s play on Saturday served as a prime example. The $11.5 million-per-year goaltender helped stake his team to an early 1-0 lead after Panarin’s first goal, but seemed to collapse a bit after a sequence in the second period in which the Rangers were curiously left shorthanded following a scrum that saw Noah Laba escape serious injury after a hard hit into the end boards following contact from Flyers forward Emil Andrae.

Travis Sanheim, Owen Tippett and Trevor Zegras potted three Flyers goals in a span of just three minutes and 16 seconds before Panarin was able to somewhat right the ship with his second of the day, but following a fourth Philly tally, a shorthanded goal from Rodrigo Abols that made it a 4-2 game through two periods, Shesterkin was down on himself, suggesting the team “played with no goalie” in the middle stanza.

However, he stabilized his game from there on out, stopping the final nine Flyers shots in the third period and overtime, as well as a perfect 2-for-2 showing in the shootout against first Zegras and then Travis Konency.

“Really important two points for us,” Shesterkin said. “I didn’t play well in the second period, but I just tried to reset my mindset and move on.”

Because he did, so can the rest of the team; the Rangers go on a challenging six-game road trip starting Sunday night in Nashville, and culminating with yet another appearance on the national stage in an outdoor game setting they seem to historically thrive in.