Chris Kreider said a bit of panic began to set in when he realized Mika Zibanejad was not going to join him as he broke out on a breakaway during overtime against the Flyers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

After the Rangers hit four posts and outshot the visitors 30-19 in regulation and still had nothing to show for it, the game was on the 31-year-old winger’s stick. Kreider zoomed in, cradling the puck, before cleanly backhanding it past Flyers netminder Carter Hart to send the fans in attendance leaping out of their seats as the Rangers snatched two points with a 1-0 win.

“I thought he was going to come with me,” Kreider said with a smile. “I tried to shoot low block earlier in the game, so I figured I’d try to fake it and go backhand — a move that Mika has done.”

Said Zibanejad in response: “That’s pure trust right there.”

But in all seriousness, Zibanejad admitted he was gassed — understandably, considering the Rangers recently returned from a two-game road trip this past weekend — and he knew no one was going to be able to catch Kreider. Sending Kreider the puck, knowing he’d take care of the rest, was seemingly an easy decision for Zibanejad.

The Rangers did everything but score in regulation Tuesday. The chances were there, but they were just centimeters off in a classic case of poor puck luck. Philadelphia struggled to get anything going offensively, as the home team limited the Flyers to less than 10 shots per period and held a 6-0 shot advantage in the extra period, but the Blueshirts just couldn’t find twine either until Kreider’s goal extended their win streak to three.

It was one of those games that was seemingly in the hands of the hockey gods. It even had Gerard Gallant acting as if there were a higher power.

“I actually looked away because I’m a little superstitious,” the Rangers head coach said with a laugh. “I don’t even know how it went in, to be honest with you. I’ll look later. Actually, the first time I looked when he had the breakout when we were shorthanded. So this time I said, ‘I’m just going to look away.’

“So if you see me looking in the stands, that’s why.”

Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin stood tall in the flashiest of ways in the third period, making eight stops to help force overtime. He robbed former Ranger Kevin Hayes with a high-drama windmill save before making a diving stop at the post later on. Hart was just as strong, however, finishing with 35 saves as he extended his unbeaten streak in regulation.

Not even the Rangers’ dominant power play, which went 0-for-3, could break through. It was just post after post after post after post.

In the first period, it was Vincent Trocheck’s redirection of a slick Alexis Lafreniere feed. Ding. Then Zibanejad’s rocket shot in the second. Clang. That Kreider shot Gallant mentioned on a shorthanded breakaway? Rang off the post and slid along the goal line. Lafreniere then had a glorious backhanded attempt behind Hart early in the third. You guessed it. Ring!

“Try not to get frustrated,” said Kreider, who recorded a game-high seven shots on goal. “Something we were talking about in between periods. But, I mean, there’s definitely times we get a little bit frustrated. Just because that might wear on you a little bit doesn’t mean you get away from your game. And I thought we stuck with it.”