The Rangers have already stumbled into their first real rough stretch, and the warning signs were loud in Ontario. Back-to-back road losses to Toronto and Ottawa left New York staring at 12 goals against in two games, with Saturday night’s 7-4 defeat at Canadian Tire Centre laying bare just how thin the team’s defensive cushion has become.
But even as the road trip unraveled, Alexis Lafrenière kept flashing like the one thing the Rangers can still trust. He stretched his scoring streak again and hit another milestone at a blistering pace, pushing his breakout from promising to unmistakable.
He isn’t merely hinting at star potential anymore. He’s playing like the engine of the whole operation.
Lafrenière reached nine goals in the 13th game of the season, and the speed of that climb is staggering compared with his previous years. He got there in 44 games in 2025-26, 26 in 2024-25, 30 in 2023-24, 54 in 2022-23, 44 in 2021-22 and 48 in 2020-21.
That eruption has powered the Rangers’ strong 7-5-1 start. Night after night, he’s been the player bending the ice in New York’s favor, skating through the neutral zone with pace and turning simple puck touches into dangerous transition looks.
The effect has been obvious enough that head coach Mike Sullivan has moved him all over the lineup - top line with Mika Zibanejad, through the middle six, and onto the top power-play unit. The deployment has changed.
The impact hasn’t.
Through 13 games, Lafrenière has piled up nine goals and six assists for 15 points. On a full 82-game pace, that projects to 96 points, a number that would wipe out his previous career high of 57 points, which he reached in back-to-back seasons.
The numbers are matched by the underlying production. His points per 60 minutes sit at a career-best 3.68, good for 23rd in the NHL according to Moneypuck.com. No Ranger is close to that pace; Adam Fox is next on the team at 3.22.
And the timing couldn’t be better for New York. Igor Shesterkin is out for the year with a knee injury, and rookie Dylan Garand is already feeling the strain of carrying the starting load. That has left the Rangers with far less room to survive defensive lapses, especially in games that turn into track meets.
They still scored four goals in both losses, first in Toronto and then in Ottawa, but it wasn’t enough to salvage a point in either one. Lafrenière was at the center of both efforts. As the Rangers return to Madison Square Garden, the path ahead looks pretty clear: if they’re going to keep afloat, they may have to ride their rising superstar and simply outscore the mess behind him.
In Other News...
Wolf Pack Let Another Winnable Road Game Slip Away
The Hartford Wolf Pack had another road game within reach before it slipped away in a 3-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in AHL play. Glenn Gawdin and Juuso Prssinen scored for Hartford, while Finn Harding and Tristan Broz also found the net for the Penguins in a game that stayed tight enough for the Wolf Pack to believe they could leave with points.
Prssinens goal gave Hartford a late push and kept the pressure on until the final minutes, but the finish went the other way and left the Wolf Pack still searching for a clean result away from home. They will stay on the road for their next game against the Hamilton Hammers, with the chance to turn a missed opportunity into momentum before the trip gets any longer. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Home Stretch Could Expose A Problem They Can't Hide
The Rangers are getting a rare little test of patience this week, with two home games at Madison Square Garden separated by a five-day break. Los Angeles comes in Monday, Edmonton follows, and New York will try to lean on the advantage it has built at home while the schedule leaves plenty of time for the conversation around the roster to keep growing. Adam Fox has continued to drive play at a high level, but the broader picture has been harder to read with the teams uneven road form and the ripple effect of Igor Shesterkins injury still hanging over the lineup.
That uncertainty is especially pronounced in net, where rookie Dylan Garand has started seven straight games and given the Rangers a temporary answer, if not a permanent one. There is also interest around new signee James Reimer, who may be closer to the picture than some expected, and this home stretch could end up clarifying how much longer the club can keep patching things together. For a team trying to stay steady in the standings, these next two games are about more than just points. They may also expose how thin the margin has become. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Linked To A Goalie Move That Would Raise Big Questions
Steve Valiquette kicked around a goaltending possibility for the Rangers that would certainly get attention around the league, even if it is still in the rumor stage. The discussion centered on Utah's Karel Vejmelka, with Valiquette pointing to the way the netminder performed last season and weighing what it would mean for New York to add another established goalie alongside Igor Shesterkin.
The idea is the kind of move that invites as many questions as it does intrigue, especially with the financial side of the roster in play. Valiquette framed it as the sort of scenario that could require a broader deal, and while nothing has been confirmed, the notion of the Rangers entering a complicated trade web is enough to keep the conversation going. [Read more 🡒]