PHILADELPHIA — Connor McDavid could go end-to-end and split five opponents a dozen times from here to the end of the season and it would not matter. 

That’s because the NHL’s highlight-reel goal of the year has already been scored and it was done so Saturday night by K’Andre Miller midway through the Rangers’ 6-3 victory over the Flyers that extended their winning streak to six games. 

Out of the penalty box following a successful penalty kill, Miller chipped the puck off the right boards out of the defensive zone past Travis Sanheim and steamed in on netminder Carter Hart, only to be tripped by the Philadelphia defenseman. 

A penalty shot in the offing with the trailing ref’s arm in the air, Miller went down to his knees, sprung back up to his skates, controlled the puck and scored on a nifty deke and tuck to the far side to give the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead at 9:09 of the second period. 

“That one’s in the bag for sure,” Miller said facetiously. “It kind of happened all so quick that I kind of blacked out for a little bit and the next thing I knew I was celling [celebrating]. So it was fun, a fun experience. 

“I don’t know, I felt I was moving as fast as I ever have. The split second I had, I assumed I would have a penalty shot there, I saw out of the corner of my eye his arm went up, and I tried to stick with the play and finish the play. 

“Like I said, it was kind of a blur. I was trying to watch it again [on the video screen]. You never want to take a penalty but I guess the best way to counter it is by doing that.” 

The goal of the year, followed by the understatement of the year. 

That was one of three high-skill goals the Rangers registered in a workmanlike victory over a dreadful opponent, which ranks next-to-last in goals per game and is 3-8-5 in its last 16 games. It wasn’t necessarily 60 minutes of pretty, but the effort was honest enough to keep the win streak alive heading into the Rangers’ match Sunday night in Chicago. 

“Every single game we want to play fast and have puck support,” Mika Zibanejad said after the Blueshirts elevated their record to 17-10-5. “We all understand what we have to do to be successful.” 

First, Artemi Panarin went back-door to convert a lovely cross-ice feed from Barclay Goodrow that arrived just in time and right on the tape at 16:58 of the first period. That negated the Flyers’ opening goal. 

Then it was Goodrow himself, in alone off a feed from Zibanejad, finishing with a nifty backhand for a 3-1 lead at 12:14 of the second period. 

Goodrow’s sandpaper and leadership qualities were well advertised before he signed as a free agent during the summer of 2021. His skill perhaps was not. But it has been evident over the fortnight through which he has been elevated into a top-six role riding shotgun with Panarin, first with Filip Chytil in the middle and now with Zibanejad there. 

“I always knew he had that skill,” Panarin told The Post. “He always uses his brain. 

“I knew about all of it. He battles behind the net. He sets screens. He can pass. And he can score on breakaways, not like me.” 

The Rangers were not all that crisp. Sealing the victory became a more arduous process than necessary. There were shifts in which it seemed as if the Rangers were playing down to their opponent, with too much fudging around at both lines. 

Indeed, the Blueshirts required a big-time third-period performance from goalie Jaroslav Halak in order to nail it down after the Flyers closed within 4-3 at 7:53, just 1:31 after Jimmy Vesey had given his team a two-goal lead. Two empty-netters followed after order had been restored. 

“I thought for the most part we played a solid game,” said Halak, who improved his record to 2-6-1. “When you win five or six in a row, your confidence gets higher.” 

So it’s on to Chicago for the Rangers. And it’s on to Chicago for Miller, who has the highlight goal of the year in his pocket.