Are the NY Rangers in the playoffs? Blueshirts' postseason chances after 8-5 loss to Flyers 

The New York Rangers lost 8-5 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. This was their third straight loss after losing 4-0 in a shutout to the NJ Devils and a 5-1 near shutout to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday.

The Rangers have made it to the playoffs the last three seasons, but this year they have struggled with a record of 36-35-7. They are eight points below the second Wild Card spot holder Montreal Canadiens. And they are tied with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders with 79 points.

According to moneypuck.com, the Rangers' chances of making it to the playoffs are slim at 1.5%. Apart from that, they have a 0.8% chance of making it to the second round of the playoffs. Worryingly for the club, the Rangers are giving up 3.05 goals per game, ranking 18th in the league.

Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring with 34 goals and 49 assists for 83 points. He also has eight power play goals and 16 power play assists, taking on the major offensive load for the team while logging 19:46 minutes of ice time per game. Chris Kreider (20 goals) and Mika Zibanejad (52 points) have also helped the team offensively.

NY Rangers lose 8-5 to Flyers after getting outscored in third period

The Rangers played well against the Flyers on Wednesday, but slacked off in the third period. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette was not happy with his team's attack.

"I didn't like the way we attacked the period," Laviolette said postgame via NHL.com. "The game going into that period, it's in the balance of who is going to decide it. They played a better period than we did. We made mistakes and they ended up in the back of our net."

Vincent Trocheck scored first with a shorthanded goal. Tyson Foerster tied it in the second with a wrist shot. Garnet Hathaway gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead with another shorthanded goal. Panarin tied it 2-2 with his 300th NHL goal.

Travis Sanheim made it 3-2 for the Flyers early in the third, but Jonny Brodzinski tied it 3-3. J.T. Miller then gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead. Jakob Pelletier tied it again, and Sean Couturier made it 5-4 Flyers. Foerster scored again to make it 6-4, before Chris Kreider scored to cut it to 6-5.

Foerster completed his hat-trick with an empty-net goal and Owen Tippett added another empty-netter for the 8-5 final scoreline. The NY Rangers were outscored 6-3 in the third.

A loss to the New York Islanders in their next game at UBS Arena on Thursday would officially eliminate the NY Rangers from playoff contention.