Eight games into the season, the Rangers are starting to look like a team with a spine.
That was on display again Tuesday night in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, a result that pushed New York to 6-2-0 and added another clean early-season statement to the growing pile. The record is still tiny in the grand sweep of a six-month schedule, but the way this group is playing feels real: hard work, buy-in, structure, and a commitment to doing the little things that travel well.
Coach Mike Sullivan put it plainly after the game.
“I think we’re really starting to establish an identity and what Rangers hockey looks like when we’re at our best,” Sullivan said postgame Tuesday. “And it started from our willingness and commitment to check, and I think our guys are committed there.
It’s five-man participation. I think these guys just value playing away from the puck and the importance of it.”
That theme has been central to the Rangers’ start. The club has looked like a team that understands how it wants to play, and just as important, has accepted it.
Even without Igor Shesterkin, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the Rangers have kept rolling. The early returns suggest the foundation is strong enough to withstand the absence.
Chris Drury has been trying to make this team harder to play against since the Florida Panthers knocked the Rangers out of the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. The last couple of seasons did not always reflect that vision, and there were still holes that went unfilled, especially on the back end.
This version of the team looks different. More pieces fit.
More pieces make sense.
“The defensive buy-in’s been outstanding,” Adam Fox stated Tuesday.
There’s also been a real lift from the players around the core. Alexis Lafreniere is beginning to look like a star, Will Cuylle is taking another major step, and Gabe Perreault and Alberts Smits are showing well as youngsters. Dylan Garand, the new No. 1 goalie, has gone through seven NHL games over two seasons without allowing more than two goals in any of them.
The Rangers are not a finished product, and nobody should pretend they are. There are going to be bumps ahead. But in the standings, those early points matter, and New York is stacking them at a pace that gives this start real weight.
That matters in a Metropolitan Division that, outside of the first-place defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, does not exactly have a clear group of obvious playoff locks. The Rangers are no lock themselves. Still, this kind of start changes the conversation quickly after two seasons that fell far short of expectations.
Around the league Tuesday, the biggest contract headline belonged to Alex DeBrincat. ESPN reported that the Detroit Red Wings and the star forward have agreed to a seven-year, $91 million extension.
The frozen frenzy around the NHL produced plenty more news. NHL.com noted that 112 goals were scored while all 32 teams were in action, the second-most goals in a single day in league history.
There were also setbacks for Carolina. Jordan Staal has a torn calf muscle and will be out 1-2 months, while Taylor Hall left the Hurricanes’ 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals in the first period with an upper-body injury.
Elsewhere, Roger McQueen made his NHL debut for the Anaheim Ducks and was held scoreless in a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames. He was recalled from the AHL after Ryan Poehling landed on IR with a sprained MCL and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
The Blue Jackets had a rough night as well, falling 7-3 to the Florida Panthers, and coach Rick Bowness was blunt afterward: “if they’re not embarrassed by that, we don’t want them on the team. Simple as that.”
And in Ottawa’s 7-3 win over Columbus, Brady Tkachuk scored a natural hat trick with Matthew Tkachuk assisting on all three goals, the first time in NHL history a brother combination has done that.
In Other News...
Rangers Bottom Six Decision Just Sent A Tough Message
The Rangers have made another change to the bottom of their lineup, sending forward Cole Beaudoin to the AHLs Hartford Wolf Pack and bringing up Justin Dowling in his place. It is the sort of transaction that can look routine on paper, but for a young player trying to stick, it often says plenty about where he stands in the pecking order.
Beaudoin had just gotten his first taste of the NHL with New York before heading back to Hartford, where he has also played this season. Dowling, meanwhile, comes back with more league experience and a brief stint in Hartford already behind him, giving the Rangers a more established option as they keep sorting through the back end of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Are Backing Up Contender Talk With A Start Fans Will Love
The early return on the Rangers opening month has been hard to ignore, especially at Madison Square Garden, where theyve won their first five home games and suddenly look every bit like a team backing up the preseason contender chatter. New York has jumped to the top of the league in wins, and the broader profile is just as encouraging, with the Rangers showing up near the top in goals against, goals scored and penalty kill percentage.
A strong team start can hide a lot of individual stories, but this one keeps producing them. Alexis Lafrenire has been one of the most visible finishers, while Dylan Garand, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye have each added their own marks to the first stretch of the season. The bigger question now is whether this fast start is the foundation for something lasting, or just the kind of hot October that gets a lot louder once the schedule starts to bite. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Suddenly Have A Big Crease Question After Shesterkin Injury
Igor Shesterkins season-ending injury has left the Rangers with a crease issue that suddenly matters a lot more than it did a few weeks ago, and Dylan Garand has been thrust into the conversation at just the right time. The young goaltender has handled the opening stretch well enough to give New York some reason for optimism, even as the larger reality remains that the team has had to pivot quickly after losing its No. 1 option.
Garands early work has helped steady things, but the situation still feels fragile for a Rangers team trying to keep its season on track without its star goalie. The organization now has to decide how much trust to place in a netminder who was not long ago viewed as depth, and the answer could shape how the rest of the year unfolds in front of him. [Read more 🡒]