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NHL on NBCSN: After ‘awful’ loss to Sabres, Rangers hope to bounce back against Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers v New York Rangers

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 06: Michael Grabner #40 and Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers fight for the puck with Wayne Simmonds #17 of the Philadelphia Flyers during their preseason game at Madison Square Garden on October 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

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NBCSN will continue its coverage of the 2016-17 campaign tonight when the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangerse at 8:00 p.m. ET. If you want to watch the game online, you can do so here.

Last night, everything pointed toward the Rangers easily taking care of the Sabres. New York entered the new year riding a three-game winning streak and they had found the back of the net 16 times in their previous three games.

But there’s a reason games are played on the ice and not on paper. Not only did the Rangers not win, they also looked horrible in the process, as they dropped a 4-1 decision to Buffalo at MSG.

“It was an awful game from us. Just an awful game,” Stepan said after Tuesday’s loss, per the New York Post. “We’d better digest this, learn from it and correct it. It’s happened a lot lately. We have to figure out what’s going on and we have to do it now.”

Although it’s still only January, tonight’s game is an important one for the Rangers, as they’ll take on the red-hot Blue Jackets in Columbus on Saturday before going on their bye week.

On the injury front, Rick Nash (groin) will miss his seventh consecutive game. There’s still a chance he could play against the Blue Jackets this weekend.

A win for the Flyers would bring them to within six points of New York for the third seed in the Metropolitan Division.

The Flyers entered the new year on a three-game losing streak, which has since reached four games after their latest loss to the Ducks on Jan. 1, but they still felt good about their 55-shot performance.

“You get 55 shots, you’re going to win most games,” defenseman Michael Del Zotto said, per Philly.com. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the two points, but it’s definitely a better game than the last two we played.

“We know we’ve been in a little bit of a lull, but if we keep playing like we did [Sunday], we’ll be successful.”

They’re entering a crucial part of their schedule, as they’ll get two days between games after tonight, but they’ll follow that up by playing six games in nine days before hitting their bye week in mid-January.

Related:

--Sabres shut down Rangers offense in 4-1 win

--An interesting stretch awaits the Flyers

--Gibson, Kesler steal one for Ducks against Flyers