Rangers coach David Quinn dropped a surprise before the game when he announced that defenseman K’Andre Miller would be unavailable Thursday against the Flyers in Philadelphia, but at least the coach had good news to report regarding leading scorer Artemi Panarin, who did return to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury.
Panarin returned to his usual spot on the second line, with center Ryan Strome and second-year winger Kaapo Kakko.
Panarin, who entered Thursday with five goals and 10 assists, returned to a team that scored two goals in the two games he missed (5-2 loss to the Devils Tuesday, and a 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins last Friday) and is starving for goals in general.