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Rangers Thoughts Presented by Vintage Ice Hockey: Preseason Proved Meaningless

The West Coast and Western Canada are typically an issue for the Rangers. But not the Peter Laviolette Rangers. The Rangers remain undefeated on their road trip. Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!


The West Coast and Western Canada are typically an issue for the Rangers. But not the Peter Laviolette Rangers. The Rangers remain undefeated on their road trip to both locations.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

1. Igor Shesterkin stole two points for the Rangers in Calgary and his strong bounceback performance coming off being pulled against Nashville made it seem like he would get the start in Edmonton. He didn’t. Peter Laviolette opted to give Jonathan Quick his second start of the season as a result of his strong play in Seattle, his Western Conference familiarity and his success against the Oilers.

“Things like that always factor into it,” Laviolette said. “His career numbers vs. Edmonton are really good. He’s coming off a pretty good performance as well.”

Quick rewarded his head coach’s decision with a 29-save shutout and the Rangers beat the Oilers 3-0.

“I’m very glad that we have him on our team,” Braden Schneider said of the Rangers backup.

For all of the preseason discussion about Quick being washed up and unfit to be the Rangers backup, his play through three games and two starts is the latest reminder that preseason play is meaningless. Quick stopped every shot he faced from the Oilers, including several high-quality, dangerous chances in the first period, and has allowed one goal in 145:52 this season. His .982 save percentage is silly.

2. The Rangers continued their winning ways on their season-long, five-game road trip to the West Coast and Western Canada, remaining undefeated through three games. After winning 4-1 in Seattle on Saturday and 3-1 in Calgary on Tuesday, their 3-0 win in Edmonton on Thursday has them atop the Met. If not for Stuart Skinner’s play in goal for the Oilers, the game could have easily been 6-0 or even 7-0 with the amount of odd-man rushes the Rangers had.

“I thought we could have had three more,” Laviolette said.”

3. If you had told me through the first seven games of the season that Mika Zibanejad and Filip Chytil would have zero goals, I would have followed it up by asking you how many losses the Rangers have. The two top-six centers being held scoreless through the first two-plus weeks of the season and the Rangers having a 5-2 record is a testament to how deep and well rounded this roster is. And also how good the power play has been.

4. With seven power play goals in seven games, the Rangers have converted 30 percent of their man-advantages. Adam Fox’s power-play goal in Edmonton to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead was the team’s first non-net-front power-play goal of the season. The Oilers’ likely pre-planned approach to tighten their box on the penalty kill around the slot and front of the net to prevent Chris Kreider deflections led to Fox being able to quietly find a place alone at the left hash mark for his eventual goal. The Rangers’ ability to change and shift their formation on the mid-power play has made it hard for the opposition to defend and is a major reason why they currently have the sixth-best power play in the league.

5. Midway through the second, Schneider scored his first of the season with a beautiful snipe from the middle of the ice to make it 2-0, and near the end of the second, Alexis Lafreniere scored for the third consecutive game.

While Quick endured his share of criticism in preseason, Lafreniere was right there in terms of drawing the ire of Rangers fans who put any stock into preseason with his play in late September.

Here is what I wrote about Lafreniere after the Rangers’ win over the Flames on Tuesday.

Lafreniere is currently on pace for a 41-goal season. It’s unlikely he will keep that pace up, but for a player who has averaged .20 goals per game in his 216-game career, the early-season total is exciting. League history has endless examples of high first-round picks who found their game for good in their fourth season, and you don’t have to look any farther than Zibanejad for comparison. Zibanejad was the sixth overall pick in 2011, and it wasn’t until his fourth season in the league when he put together his first 20-goal campaign after a 16-goal campaign in his third season. Lafreniere’s third-season goal total? 16.

Well, that 41-goal pace is now up to a 47-goal pace after Lafreniere scored his fourth goal of the season to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead.

6. “He seems confident to me,” Laviolette said. “He seems like he’s having fun.”

Confidence seemed to be an issue for Lafreniere in his first three seasons in the league. David Quinn and Gerard Gallant were always quick to punish him with playing time, demote him in the lineup or even outright scratch him, never being able to properly utilize or get the most out of the former No. 1 pick. It’s been the complete opposite under Laviolette, who rightfully included Lafreniere in the top six from the moment he arrived, and has let him play on the opposite wing of Artemi Panarin in every game this season.

7. “Every night that line is in the positive in a lot of different ways,” Lavioelte said, “and certainly on the scoreboard is a big one.”

It was another ho-hum, two-point night for both Fox and Panarin, who assisted on the Fox and Lafreniere goals. The two assists extended Panarin’s every-game-of-the-season point streak. The Lafreniere-Chytil-Panarin line continues to impress

“When they’re moving, they’re really dangerous,” Laviolette said. “They read off of each other well. I think there’s a good mix of different types of player in there. They were on point tonight. They had a really strong game.”

8. Overall, it was a good, but not complete game from the Rangers. They had trouble finishing (as Laviolette said), and they relied on Quick to get them through the first period. Through seven games, the Rangers have had a tendency in most first periods to come out sluggish and essentially weather the storm until the first intermission. It’s usually after an 18-minute trip to the locker room when they begin to play their game and take over. The Rangers have been outscored 6-5 in the first period this season, but have outscored the opposition 16-7 in the second and third periods. On this road trip, they have outscored the Kraken, Flames and Oilers 8-0 in the second period. All three of their goals in Edmonton came in the second.

9. Will Cuylle nearly had his second goal of the season after the puck deflected in off his right skate. It was called a goal on the ice, but after review it was overturned for a kicking motion, an idea that remains the grayest of gray areas. Despite only one point (a goal) in seven games, Cuylle has played well, and his linemate Blake Wheeler finally played well too on Thursday. Wheeler played his bet game of the season, and his head coach commented, “He was really noticeable all night … He could have had two or three goals.”

10. Outside of a letdown performance in Columbus and a complete no-show against Nashville, the Rangers have played extremely well this season. The fear of falling behind early in the standings as the team learns a new system under a new head coach has been put to rest.

There are two games left on the road trip (Vancouver on Saturday and Winnipeg on Monday),and thankfully just one more late-night start (Vancouver). It’s impossible not to feel good about the state of the Rangers through seven games, and if they can do the unthinkable and pull off a five-game sweep of the West Coast and Western Canada, it will be impossible not to feel great about them.


Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!

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Rangers Thoughts Presented by Vintage Ice Hockey: Igor Shesterkin Shuts Down Flames

After alternating wins and losses through the first five games of the season, the Rangers have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season. Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!


After alternating wins and losses through the first five games of the season, the Rangers have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

1. It’s rare when anything good comes from a Rangers West Coast or Western Canada road trip, but after beating the Kraken 4-1 in Seattle on Saturday, the Rangers followed that victory with a 3-1 win over the Flames in Calgary on Tuesday. It was their first win in Calgary in nearly six years (Mar. 2, 2018).

“I kind of thought of that coming in,” Chris Kreider said. “I didn’t want to say it out loud, but it’s been rough sledding for us.”

2. It looked like the winless streak on the road against the Flames may continue early on. After being pulled in his most recent start last Thursday against Nashville, Igor Shesterkin was beat from right slot by Blake Coleman just 75 seconds into this one. A turnover in the neutral zone by Filip Chytil gave the Flames possession, and then a poor defensive decision by Chytil to join Adam Fox below the goal line in pursuit of the puck allowed Coleman to become wide open in the slot. But following the early goal, Shesterkin was perfect for the remainder of the game, shutting out the Flames for the remaining 58:45, and turning away 23 of 24 shots overall.

3. The first period was a slog. The Rangers had just three shots in the first 14 minutes and it wasn’t until the last five minutes of the period that they started to generate offense. Still looking for his first goal of the season, Mika Zibanejad missed the net on a breakaway, and seconds later got stopped by Jacob Markstrom on a 2-on-0 with Kreider below the hashmarks. Chytil had a contested breakaway chance that he was unable to convert with 10 seconds left in the period, and just before time expired, Braden Schneider hit the post.

The Rangers were able to build off their play near the end of first period for almost the entirety of the second period. The second period ending up being the only period the Rangers they played a complete, 200-foot game, and unsurprisingly, it was the one period they did all their scoring in.

4. The Flames entered the game having killed off 21 of 22 power plays this season, but their 95 percent success rate took a dip thanks to the Rangers’ first and second power-play units.

On their first power play of the game, it was the second unit that got the Rangers on the board and tied the game at 1 at 7:38 in the second. Kaapo Kakko was able to keep the puck in the zone on a failed clear attempt by Elias Lindholm, and as a result of Kakko’s play at the left blue line, the second unit was eventually able to set up on the opposite side. Alexis Lafreniere passed it off to Chytil who went to Erik Gustafsson at the point with it. Gustafsson threw a shot into traffic and Lafreniere, who had worked his way down low, deflected Gustafsson’s shot for his third goal of the season.

“We work a lot in practices at trying to get a stick on it, and we have really good (defensemen) who can find lanes,” Lafreniere said. “If you can get to the front, things will happen.”

5. Lafreniere is currently on pace for a 41-goal season. It’s unlikely he will keep that pace up, but for a player who has averaged .20 goals per game in his 216-game career, the early-season total is exciting. League history has endless examples of high first-round picks who found their game for good in their fourth season, and you don’t have to look any farther than Zibanejad for comparison. Zibanejad was the sixth overall pick in 2011, and it wasn’t until his fourth season in the league when he put together his first 20-goal campaign after a 16-goal campaign in his third season. Lafreniere’s third-season goal total? 16.

6. About five minutes of play later, the Rangers got their second power play of the night. Peter Laviolette opted to start the man-advantage with the second unit, but this time it would be the first unit that would come through. With 10 seconds left on the power play, Artemi Panarin, holding the puck at the top of the zone, fed Kreider the perfect pass at the goal line to deflect by Markstrom to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. The power-play goal was the Rangers’ sixth in six games, as Panarin kept his every-game-of-the-season point streak alive.

7. Less than three minutes later, on a 4-on-4, Chytil weaved his way through the offensive zone and ripped a shot from the top of the circles on goal. Markstrom squeezed his pads together, but the puck squeaked through his legs. Much like Kakko’s goal against Phillip Grubauer in Seattle, Gustafsson skated in and banged in the loose puck in the crease to make it 3-1.

8. The third period was played much like the first: a slog.

“I don’t think that we were full tilt tonight,” Laviolette said. “I thought we defended too much.”

The Rangers produced just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes of the third, couldn’t generate any real scoring chances or create sustained pressure. They seemed content with running out the clock on their two-goal lead much to the chagrin of their head coach.

“I’d rather not sit back and try to hang on to that 3-1 lead,” Laviolette said. “I’d rather go down and press on the forecheck and fire 25, 30 attempts and 15 shots on net. But that didn’t happen.”

It didn’t happen against the inferior Flames, and it didn’t need to. Against a much better opponent, that kind of third period will likely get the Rangers in serious trouble. But with Shesterkin playing the way he did, showing up for one of three periods was enough. (Clear Sight Analytics Hockey had the Flames winning in expected goals 4.29 to 2.45.)

9. “We’re happy that we got the two points,” Chytil said, “but I think we set the bar a little higher than how we played tonight.”

The standard of play for the Rangers this season remains opening night in Buffalo, and it wouldn’t be all that surprising if that level of effort and domination isn’t matched again by the Rangers this season. That’s how nearly flawless they were in that game. Their next-best game came in Seattle. The win over the Flames wasn’t to the level of either of those two games, but like Chytil said, they got two points nonetheless.

10. “Every game can’t be an ‘A-plus’ game,” Laviolette said. “You want it to be, and then if it’s not, you try to fix it and correct it, so it is an ‘A’ game.

The Rangers have played one ‘A-plus’ game this season (Buffalo) and one ‘A’ game (Seattle). Despite their at times inconsistent play, they have still managed to win four of six, including their first two on their season-long, five-game West Coast and Western Canada road trip, proving even their ‘B’ or ‘C’ game is enough to get two points. It would be less stressful if every game were an ‘A’ or ‘A-plus’ effort, especially if one of those games were to happen in Edmonton on Thursday night.


Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!

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Rangers Thoughts Presented by Vintage Ice Hockey: Road Trip Off to Stellar Start

After a disappointing effort against Nashville in New York, the Rangers began their season-long, five-game road trip with their second-best effort of the season. Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!


After a disappointing effort against Nashville in New York, the Rangers began their season-long, five-game road trip with their second-best effort of the season against in Seattle.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

1. I used to love the oddity of a Rangers West Coast road trip and the unusual start times. Now with two toddlers that wake up just a few hours after the end of a West Coast game, not so much.

The late-night starts are bad enough, but to have to endure four of them in a row in the second week of the season makes it even worse. Then add in a lighting delay a minute into the first of these games, and you have the scene from Saturday night in Seattle.

Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena underwent a $1.15 billion renovation prior to the Kraken beginning play in the NHL, yet somehow all of that money couldn’t prevent a bank of lights from going out midgame. About a minute into play, the Rangers and Kraken were forced to sit around after a dim landscape fell over the Rangers’ zone. Following a lengthy delay, the game was resumed under the agreement the teams would switch sides halfway through each period, so each team would have to defend the dim zone an equal amount.

2. The Kraken scored the game’s opening goal on a Justin Schultz one-timer just before the teams were to switch sides for the first time (8:41). Jonathan Quick slid too far to his right on the Schultz blast, and whether the goal was a result of the lightning issue or just a mistimed slide by Quick, the Rangers trailed 1-0 and it began to feel like the bank of lights would regain their power just as the Kraken were supposed to defend the dim zone.

3. Thankfully, the lights didn’t regain their power prior to the switch (and didn’t regain their power for the entirety of the game), and Artemi Panarin tied the game at 1 at 12:15 in the first.

As the first man in the zone on the forecheck, Alexis Lafreniere created pressure on Vince Dunn below the goal line and Dunn hastily threw the puck up the boards where Filip Chytil was waiting. Chytil immediately found Panarin all alone on the opposite side of the zone, fed him the puck, and Panarin ripped it shortside past Philipp Grubauer.

4. Early in the second, Jacob Trouba was called for boarding for a hit on Andre Burakovsky. It was a late hit by Trouba, but wasn’t vicious. In the moment, it was hard to believe the relative lack of force of by Trouba on the hit could even knock over Burakovsky. The Kraken forward’s awkward fall led to him leaving the game. Burakovsky had to undergo surgery for whatever happened to him on the play that will keep him out six to eight weeks. What the surgery was on or for is unclear as his absence has always been labeled an upper-body injury in the NHL’s continued silly characterization of injuries.

5. With the Rangers attacking the lit zone in the first half of the second period, Mika Zibanejad cleanly won a draw in the right circle back straight back to K’Andre Miller, and Miller set up Trouba for a one-timer from he point. Trouba’s shot squeaked threw the legs of Grubauer, and Kaapo Kakko outmuscled Brian Dumoulin to get behind the Kraken defenseman and bang in the puck sitting behind Grubauer in the crease for a 2-1 lead.

A little less than five minutes later, Lafreniere forced another turnover at the goal line, passed it off to Chytil who skated elegantly around the right circle. Chytil weaved through Dumoulin and Jaden Schwartz and flicked a backhand pass to Lafreniere who had positioned himself in the slot after forcing the turnover. Lafreniere deflected the puck over the shoulder of Grubauer, and the Rangers had a 3-1 lead.

6. With the Rangers attacking the dim zone to begin the third, Miller skated the puck up the ice and went untouched through the neutral zone with the Kraken choosing to not put a stick or body on the Rangers defenseman. Miller crossed the blue line and gave the puck up to Chytil who then gave it to Panarin streaking down the middle. Chytil’s pass was deflected into the air, but Panarin was able to glove it down to the ice. The puck never settled, and yet, Panarin was able to snap the bouncing puck past Grubauer for his second of the game to give the Rangers a three-goal lead.

Both of Panarin’s goals came in the dim zone (as did three of the game’s five goals). As the Rangers’ most productive player this season, he now has three goals and four assists on the year, having produced at least one point in all five games.

“For me, I want it darker, so it’s harder for goalies,” Panarin said. “That’s why I scored two.”

7. Chytil hasn’t found the back oft he net through five games, but his play is noticeable and his game has taken another positive step from the player he was a year ago. His three assists were a career best in a single game as he led all Rangers forwards in ice time with 19:14. It was his quick decision making that led to the Rangers’ first and third goals, and his pass with a little luck that led to the fourth goal.

“We had a tough last game,” Chytil said. “We just had to bounce back and this was the best scenario for what could happen.”

8. Nearly halfway through the third, the game got chippy with Yanni Gourde finding himself tangled up with Chris Kreider in front of the Rangers’ bench in what resulted in matching roughing penalties. A little over a minute later, Vincent Trocheck dropped the gloves with Jared McCann off a faceoff. It was just Trocheck’s sixth career fight (third with the Rangers), but you wouldn’t have guessed it with the way he used and landed both rights and lefts on McCann.

9. “I liked the way we skated and competed right from the drop of the puck,” Peter Laviolette said of the 4-1 win. “Pretty consistent for 60 minutes.”

It was easily the Rangers’ best game played and best effort since opening night in Buffalo, which continues to be the standard for how their play is evaluated. 

The Rangers may only be 3-2 on the season, but in terms of expected goals, they have outplayed their opponent in every game except for the ugly, shockingly bad game against Nashville. Courtesy of Clear Sight Analytics Hockey, here is the expected goals total for each of the Rangers’ five games.

Rangers 3.50, Sabres 1.41

Rangers 3.38, Blue Jackets 3.13

Rangers 3.25, Coyotes 2.59

Predators 3.48, Rangers 1.29

Rangers 4.78, Kraken 1.31

10. Coming off a disappointing effort against the Nashville, I wasn’t sure which version of the Rangers would take the ice in Seattle. But knowing what Laviolette is capable of as a head coach and what the roster is capable of as a team, it seemed unlikely they would lay two eggs in a row.

“Five games on the road is a long time,” Kakko said. “First win feels good.”

One down and four to go for the season’s longest road trip, with all four remaining games in Western Canada. If the Rangers play in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg like they did in Seattle, the lengthy road trip won’t feel so long.


Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!

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Rangers Thoughts Presented by Vintage Ice Hockey: Nothing Against Nashville

The Rangers no-showed at home on Thursday against Nashville and lost 4-1. At 2-2, they now head out on their longest road trip of the season. Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!


The Rangers no-showed at home on Thursday against Nashville and lost 4-1. At 2-2, they now head out on their longest road trip of the season.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

1. It’s hard to believe the Rangers team that played a near-flawless game in Buffalo last Thursday is the same Rangers team that played the Predators this Thursday. In a week’s time the Rangers went from looking like a team ready to take the next step in their quest for a championship to looking like a team that’s on their third head coach in four seasons for a reason.

“It was definitely our worst game of the season so far,” Jacob Trouba said. “We got outworked. We got out-battled. We got out-competed. We got beat.”

2. The Predators were playing an oddly scheduled, mid-week game in New York City sandwiched between four home games, and yet they never for a second of play looked like the visiting team that had the opportunity to explore everything the city has to offer the night before. Everything about the 4-1 loss was ugly, leaving nothing positive to take away from the fourth game and second loss of the season.

3. The Rangers were sloppy in all three zones, missing passes, overskating the puck and turning it over whenever pressured. Their defense lacked structure and organization, leading to costly mistakes and high-quality scoring chances for the Predators throughout the game.

“We gave up eight odd-man rushes and two breakaways,” Peter Laviolette said. “You’re just not going to find success unless you button that up.”

4. The first of those two breakaways gave the Predators a 2-0 lead when Cole Smith (who scored the Predators’ first goal on a rebound off a Tyson Barrie shot) hopped out of the penalty box to receive the gift of all gifts. A K’Andre Miller D-to-D saucer pass sauced right over Erik Gustafsson blade’s and landed on Smith’s tape, fleeing him for a breakaway opportunity that he successfully converted with 3:38 left in the first.

Just 3:22 into the second, the Predators extended their lead with a Ryan O’Reilly power-play goal, and 10 minutes later, they put the game away. Filip Forsberg carried the puck inside the Rangers’ zone, briefly fell to his knees, maintained possession, skated the puck to the right hash and blasted a slap shot over the left shoulder of Igor Shesterkin, ending Shesterkin’s night and essentially the game.

5. The remaining 26 minutes were nothing more than a formailty. There would be no Rangers Classic, game-of-the-year-type comeback. The only goal the Rangers were able to muster came on a 5-on-3 when an Adam Fox pass through the crease was deflected in by Ryan McDonagh. I can only imagine McDonagh was trying to pay homage to his former Rangers D partner Dan Girardi by inexplicably lying down in the crease to inadvertently score on his own goal. It was a beautiful tribute and one that likely conjured up some dark memories for Henrik Lundqvist.

6. Fox’s game on Thursday night summed up just how bad the Rangers were. Despite the fortunate, deflected goal, Fox had arguably the worst game of his career. He took two hooking penalties in the first 23 minutes of the game, misplayed the puck several times, couldn’t maintain his handle on the puck in the neutral zone on a 6-on-5 delayed penalty call and looked lost the entire night. Aspects of the game that come so easy to Fox, qualities that make him one of the best defensemen in the league vanished against the Predators and he spent the entire night fighting the play.

It’s not like Fox isn’t entitled to an off-night and it’s not as though he was even close to being the Rangers’ biggest issue in the loss, but it was startling to see him not be himself for an entire game. I guess if he were going to pick a night to play the way he did, he picked a good one, since the rest of the team played the same way.

7. Most offensive zone entries were met with a turnover, and in the rare instances when the Rangers were able to gain entry, their opportunities were one-and-done. There were no second chances and there wasn’t any sustained pressure for the entire game.

“Slow” would be the best way to summarize the Rangers’ effort. After the second period, Stephen Valiquette opined on MSG that he “anticipated the Rangers tonight looking like they did in Buffalo” and instead “It looks like they’re playing in quicksand a little bit.”

8. So far the Rangers have played four very different games. They have been at their absolute best (Buffalo), they have played well and lost (Columbus), they have played well and relied on their goaltending when they couldn’t find the back of the net (Arizona) and they have also not shown up (Nashville). As difficult as it is to remember a game in the last few seasons when the Rangers looked as good as they did against the Sabres, it’s equally as difficult to remember a game when they looked as bad as they did against the Predators.

9. This sporadic type of play was to be expected early in the season with a new head coach, a new system, a quarter of a new roster and new line combinations. The Buffalo game immediately set a standard for what the Rangers are capable of when everything goes right, but expecting that kind of game and effort each game was never realistic. Even still, I thought we may see it more nights than not.

That hasn’t happened. It doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It’s possible that version of this team (the very best version of this team) will be the team that takes the ice in Seattle on Saturday night. Given the way this team has historically played on the West Coast and in Western Canada, it’s not easy to envision.

10. About to embark on their longest road trip of the season, a five-game stretch in Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg, I think everyone expected a better all-around game for the home team that won’t play at home again until November 2. Rather than head out on the road on a high note, they leave having scored three goals in two home games, while committing 10 penalties. They leave with a 2-2 record against four teams that all missed the postseason a year ago, and will likely all miss it this season as well.

We know what the Rangers’ best looks like (Buffalo). We hopefully now know what their worst looks like (Nashville). Which version of the Rangers will show up on the West Coast and in Western Canada? I wish I knew.


Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!

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Rangers Thoughts Presented by Vintage Ice Hockey: The Igor Shesterkin Show

The Rangers followed up a tough weekend loss in Columbus with a tough home-opening win over Arizona. Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

Vintage Ice Hockey is the only company that sells premium-quality jerseysapparel and team merchandise for defunct minor league hockey franchises. It’s a family-run, hockey fan-driven company that’s committed to celebrating and preserving the legacies of defunct minor league hockey franchises. Check out their collection spanning over 100 years of minor league hockey and use code KTTC for 15% off your order!


The Rangers followed up a tough weekend loss in Columbus with a tough home-opening win over Arizona.

Here are 10 thoughts on the Rangers.

1. I knew the Rangers’ effort produced in the season opener in Buffalo wasn’t going to be something to expect night in and night out for 82 games, but I didn’t think it would evade them so quickly. Certainly not two nights later against the Blue Jackets.

“Tough game, tough game,” Peter Laviolette said of the 5-3 loss in Columbus. “Funny game, tough game.”

The Saturday night loss to the Blue Jackets was a letdown. After the Rangers took an early 1-0 lead (50 seconds in) on a lucky bounce/redirect off a skate, I think everyone thought the Rangers would run away with the game. Joe Micheletti mentioned how a young Blue Jackets team that had a tough season a year ago and a tough opening night could easily let the game get away from them if the Rangers could extend their first-period lead, and the Rangers nearly did so … twice.

2. A pair of first-period goals by the Rangers were called back after Blue Jackets challenges for offside. Both plays were barely off (which is why they weren’t called off in real time), but off nonetheless. Once those goals were called back, a feeling of impending doom for how the game would play out began to settle in. That feeling proved right.

After the two non-goals, Elvis Merzlikins turned into a brick wall and once he left the game with an injury, backup Spencer Martin played the same. On top of the Blue Jackets getting surprising all-world goaltending, every extended shift for the Rangers in the Blue Jackets’ zone was immediately met with a Blue Jackets goal.

“There were some odd-man rushes I didn’t like,” Laviolette said, “there wasn’t overwhelming amounts of it, but the ones we didn’t take charge of, they came back the other way and bit us.”

3. Ryan Lindgren’s absence due to an upper-body injury had a distinct impact on the loss as the Braden Schneider-Zac Jones pairing had a rough game. Even still, the Rangers had opportunities to take the lead and then to tie the game and then to get back in the game, but nearly every time, Merzlikins and Martin made spectacular saves.

“Offensively I felt we pushed the entire game, especially in the third,” Laviolette said, “we just couldn’t seem to get it in.”

4. Monday night’s home opener was a different story. The Rangers didn’t provide the type of stunning, nearly flawless effort from Buffalo, but they managed to beat Arizona 2-1. Laviolette called it a “hard-fought win” and “gusty effort” and that’s putting it mildly.

The Rangers were up against it all game with Connor Ingram continuing the trend started by Merzlikins and Martin in Columbus of the Rangers getting the absolute best from the opposing goalie. Thankfully, the Coyotes got the absolute best from their opposing goalie as well.

5. After being barely challenged in Buffalo, Igor Shesterkin had an off-night in Columbus. He bounced back on Monday and gave the Rangers their first “Igor” game of the season. They desperately needed it.

Through the first two periods, the Coyotes were granted five man-advantages to the Rangers’ two. Two of the Coyotes’ five came at the same (18;41 of the second) with Alexis Lafreniere going off for a soft slashing call and Lindgren joining him in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct for shooting the puck at the boards after the call on Lafreniere. After scoring the game-tying goal earlier in the second on the power play, the Coyotes would have full, two-minute 5-on-3 power play. The Rangers managed to kill off the entire two-man advantage with blocked shots from their triangle and saves from Shesterkin.

6. “Theres nothing that goes up on the scoreboard from a 5-on-3 kill,” Laviolette said, “but I do think that everyone else feeds off of that.”

The Garden showered the Rangers with appreciation for the two-minute, two-man kill, and when the Rangers finally received a power play o their own a few minutes later, they took the lead. Vincent Trocheck did his best Chris Kreider impression and deflected home an Artemi Panarin shot into traffic.

With the Rangers unable to extend their lead, and clinging to their 2-1 advantage, Barclay Goodrow held on to Jason Zucker on a breakaway and the new Coyote was awarded a penalty shot.

Zucker came down the right side and rather than deke, tried to beat Shesterkin with a shot past his blocker.

7. “On the penalty shot, it is more like mind games,” Shesterkin said. “So when Zucker moved on the right side, I was looking for the shot on the blocker side.”

Shesterkin kept his perfect “mind games” record in tact with the save, improving to 4-for-4 in stopping penalty shots in his career.

After that, it was all about the Rangers holding on for dear life over the final 4:48, which they did.

8. The Rangers power play scored for a third straight game to open the season, and Kreider has now scored in a ll three games as well. The Panarin-Filip Chytil-Lafereniere line has been superb to begin the season, but the Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Kaapo Kakko line has been every bit as good, if not better. The Rangers finally have a true, defeined top six.

“To me, it’s been a really good line,” Laviolette said of the Zibanejad line, which provided the game’s first goal on a 2-on-1. “(Kreider) has been a noticeable impact player for us.”

9. The Rangers have looked extremely different in all three games this season. In Buffalo, they looked like the best team in the league. In Columbus, they fought the game and bad bounces with nothing coming easy after the two disallowed goals. At the Garden, they had to rely on their goaltending.

“I think that you’re going to have to figure out how to win a lot of different ways,” Laviolette said of his team’s effort after the home opener.

10. The Rangers became too reliant on Shesterkin under Gerard Gallant, and when Shesterkin didn’t provide a historic effort (like he did for all of 2021-22), it was challenging for them to win. That’s no longer the case. Sure, there will be times when Shesterkin will get them two points on his own, but it won’t be a nearly-every-game necessity.

“It’s a long road,” Laviolette said about his team’s varying performance through the first three games. “We don’t have to be perfect or perfectly ready tonight.”

The Rangers have been mostly good through three games, and for one of those three nights they were almost perfect. Over time, they won’t need to be to win games. Not with this coach and this roster.


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