Encouraging signs for Rangers as they look to end four-game skid

There were some encouraging signs for the Rangers in Wednesday’s 4-3 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes: They kept their shots against under 40 for the first time in four games; they didn’t give up as many outrageous scoring chances as they had been; didn’t allow any goals off the rush, as they had done, and they were able to maintain possession in the offensive zone for stretches.

But they ultimately collapsed in the third period and lost their fourth straight game. The pressure on them entering back-to-back games Thanksgiving Weekend is cranked way up.

“I mean, yeah, it was a better effort, but all we care about is getting the wins right now and we didn't do that tonight,’’ defenseman Ryan Lindgren said after the Carolina game. “It was definitely a better effort, but we're gonna need more in Philly.’’

Friday’s matinee in Philadelphia now shapes up as a huge game. The Flyers are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games and are two points behind the Rangers, who hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers and Buffalo Sabres are the first two teams out of the playoffs.

Chris Kreider, who missed the last two games with back spasms, should be back on Friday, at least. The status of third-line center Filip Chytil is much murkier.

Chytil had been centering the Rangers’ most effective line, between wingers Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, before missing the last six games with an upper-body injury that the team says is not a concussion. He’s been skating with the team since joining them midway through last week’s Seattle/Western Canada trip, but he doesn’t seem close to coming back. The Rangers could sorely use him right now.

In his absence, coach Peter Laviolette has moved Kakko to center, moved Cuylle up to play with center Mika Zibanejad and rookie Brett Berard in a top-six role, and bumped rookie Adam Edstrom up to the third line, with Kakko and veteran Reilly Smith. Kakko, who had never played center in his five-plus seasons in the NHL, has been fine, but It’s a temporary solution.

The Rangers keep saying they’re going through a difficult stretch right now and they keep hoping they’ll get through it and be fine afterward, maybe even stronger after surviving the adversity. But there are no assurances that this funk they’re in is temporary.

Laviolette is trying all kinds of things. Against Carolina, he switched up his usual 1-3-1 neutral zone trap to a 1-2-2 and that seemed to help. They only allowed 30 shots on goal, after allowing 49, 40 and 44 in their previous three games.

“I thought we competed hard,’’ Laviolette said when asked what his team did better against Carolina. “I thought we competed on pucks.’’

After deciding to keep Zibanejad within the two young wingers, he tweaked his defense pairs to put Lindgren back with Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller back with Jacob Trouba. The Rangers had been outscored 7-0 and outshot 50-26 with that pair on the ice before Wednesday, but Laviolette gave them another chance and it didn’t work. On Wednesday the pair was on for two goals against and the Rangers were outshot 11-2 while they were on ice.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.