HC Peter Laviolette gives his thoughts on NY Rangers' third period meltdown in 8-5 loss to Flyers 

New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette shared his thoughts following an 8-5 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. With their slim playoff hopes on the line, the Blueshirts entered the third period tied at 3-3.

They even took a 4-3 lead at one point, but their advantage didn't last long. The Flyers surged ahead, scoring five additional goals, including two quick empty-net goals in under a minute.

When asked about the slim margin for error in the standings and the game slipping away, Laviolette responded with frustration and disappointment.

"It's been there. The frustration and disappointment level's been there. So we're still there," Laviolette said postgame.

When questioned about the third period, where the Rangers allowed six goals, and what he observed, Laviolette expressed dissatisfaction with how his team approached the team.

"I didn't like the way we attacked the period. The game's going into that period and it's in the balance of who's going to decide it, and they played a better period than we did. We made mistakes and they ended up in the back of the net," he added.

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The Rangers currently sit sixth in the Eastern Wild Card standings, trailing the No. 2 placed Montreal Canadiens. Both clubs have four games remaining in the season.

However, the Canadiens find themselves in a much better position to advance into the playoffs. On the other hand, the Rangers could face playoff contention elimination with a loss of any kind against in-state rivals New York Islanders in their next matchup on Thursday.

How Philadelphia Flyers downed NY Rangers

The Rangers failed to gain in the East Wild Card race after suffering an 8-5 defeat to the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Vincent Trocheck opened the scoring for the Rangers after putting them ahead through a shorthanded goal 11:33 into the first period. Tyson Foerster tied the game for the Flyers at 9:03 before Garnet Hathaway increased the visitors' lead to 2-1. Artemi Panarin tied it for the Rangers before heading into the final period.

A total of nine goals were scored in the third period. Jonny Brodzinski, J.T. Miller, and Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers. For the Flyers, Travis Sanheim, Jakob Pelletier, Sean Couturier, and Owen Tippett each tallied a goal, while Tyson Foerster completed a hat trick in that period alone.

Mika Zibanejad contributed four points for the Rangers in the loss.