The Rangers have opened the season the way they wanted, but the conversation in New York is shifting for a different reason: Alexis Lafreniere is putting together the kind of stretch that makes you wonder if the breakout everyone has waited for is finally here.
New York is 5-2 through seven games and riding the boost that comes with banking points early. That strong start has helped the Rangers sit at the top of the standings, and it came with a solid win over the Vancouver Canucks in their first game without Igor Shesterkin.
That part matters because Shesterkin’s injury, suffered in a recent loss to the Washington Capitals, changes the equation. Dylan Garand has been asked to step in, and so far the young goalie has handled the challenge in front of him. Still, losing a star goalie is a major blow, and the Rangers are going to need more players to raise their level while he’s out.
One of those players is Lafreniere, who has been on a high-end run dating back to the second half of last season. The numbers tell the story clearly: in seven games this year, he has eight points, including five goals and three assists. Add in the last 23 games of 2025-26, when he posted 24 points with 11 goals and 13 assists, and the total over his last 30 games sits at 32 points - 16 goals and 16 assists.
That’s point-per-game production over a meaningful stretch, and for a player who has carried the weight of being a former number one overall pick, it’s the kind of sustained success New York has been waiting to see.
Lafreniere was recently moved to the second line to try to give Pavel Dorofeyev a jolt on the first, but he remains on the Rangers’ first power play unit. He’s impacting the game at both ends, and his play has been part of the reason New York has come out so strong.
Now the Rangers have to keep finding production elsewhere with Shesterkin sidelined. Lafreniere’s surge gives them a real place to start.
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Wolf Pack Keep Making The Same Costly Mistake In Losses
Hartfords first meeting with Laval this season started the way the Wolf Pack would have hoped, with Anton Blidh getting them on the board on the power play. But the Rocket steadily turned the game in their favor and pulled away for a 5-2 win, a result that reinforced how quickly one mistake can shift a matchup in the AHL, especially against a team the Wolf Pack will see several more times over the course of the season.
For Hartford, the loss fit a frustrating pattern of games where early positives have not been enough to hold up over 60 minutes. Jay Leach pointed to a roster that is working through injuries and fatigue while younger players continue adjusting to the demands of pro hockey, a process that can show up most when discipline slips and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Young Core Delivered The Response Fans Needed After Shesterkin Shock
The night after losing Igor Shesterkin for the season, the Rangers needed something resembling a reset, and they got it in a hurry against Vancouver. New Yorks young group supplied the energy and the finishing touch, piling up offense in a way that had been hard to find at times this season, with Tye Kartye and Will Cuylle each scoring twice and Alexis Lafreniere adding another goal in the 6-2 win.
Gabe Perreault was part of that response, too, setting up Lafreniere on the power play before scoring later himself. For a team suddenly trying to recalibrate without its No. 1 goalie, that kind of contribution from the next wave matters as much as the result, because the Rangers are going to need more nights like this if they want to steady things from here. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Start Is Raising One Big Lineup Question
The early part of the Oilers season has already produced one of those small-sample shifts that gets people talking, with Auston Matthews piling up two four-point games in six outings under Jim Hiller after managing only one over two full seasons for Craig Berube. Edmontons own momentum has only added to the noise, as the club moved to 4-0-1 with a win over San Jose and now looks close to getting Zach Hyman back while rookie Owen Michaels could be in line for a larger role.
For the Rangers, the interest around all of it is tied to a different kind of uncertainty. New York is still sorting through its goaltending picture, and the chatter has naturally drifted toward possible external help as the team waits on Igor Shesterkins status and continues without Joonas Korpisalo, but the cap realities make the market tricky to navigate. However that search develops, the sense around the league is that the Rangers are not looking at a splashy long-term answer, which keeps the focus on a more immediate, stopgap solution. [Read more 🡒]