Alexis Lafrenière is sitting alone atop the NHL goals race after a blistering first period Tuesday night against Tampa Bay, a start that gave the Rangers forward six and then seven goals on the season before the opening frame was even over.
The key strike came on a breakaway finished off after a slick setup from Tye Kartye, and it put Lafrenière ahead of a five-player pack that had been tied before puck drop. Evan Bouchard, Sebastian Aho, Kirill Kaprizov, Kyle Connor, and Nick Schmaltz had all entered the night with six goals apiece.
That race may not stay settled for long. Tuesday is one of the league’s Frozen Frenzy nights, with every team in action and games beginning within 15 minutes of each other, so there’s a very real chance the leaderboard changes again before the night is done. Lafrenière also still has room to climb in the points column.
Through eight games, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick now has seven goals and three assists for 10 points, which leaves him tied for sixth in the NHL in scoring. Connor McDavid leads the way with 13 points, while Jack Eichel and Evan Bouchard are tied for second with 12 each.
For the Rangers, this is the version of Lafrenière they’ve been waiting to see for years, even if they’ve caught glimpses of it along the way. He looked revived last season after Artemi Panarin was traded, and his post-Olympic break stretch drew plenty of attention.
In March, he piled up 19 points in 16 games. By the end of the season, he had 57 points, matching his previous career high. And over calendar year 2026 during the 2025-26 season, he posted 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 40 games, a .925 points per game average that works out to a 78-point pace over a full year.
It’s still early, and nobody is pretending the season has revealed its final shape. But with Igor Shesterkin out for the year, Lafrenière’s start gives the Rangers something real to hang onto, and maybe even a little reason to believe that not everything has gone sideways.
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