The Rangers’ trip to Toronto lands at an interesting point in their early season: a stretched-out schedule, a handful of road stops still ahead, and a chance to grab two points in one of the month’s biggest tests. New York heads into Thursday night’s matchup at Scotiabank Arena with a 1-3-1 road mark, while the Maple Leafs are trying to find more traction at home after an offseason overhaul that has yet to produce immediate dominance. Toronto is fifth in the Atlantic Division at 5-4-2 for 12 points.
If the Rangers are going to leave with a win, the game will likely be shaped by four players.
Alexis Lafrenière has already shown how quickly he can reset after a quiet night. His season-opening point streak ended in Columbus, but he answered right back with two assists in Monday’s 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Through 11 games, he has 13 points and is tracking toward a triple-digit season. He has also handled Toronto well in the past, putting up five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 15 career games against the Leafs.
With the Maple Leafs’ blue line giving up rush chances, New York will need Lafrenière to keep attacking through the neutral zone with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault.
Pavel Dorofeyev is another Ranger who could use this stage to change the conversation around his start. The winger has had a frustrating opening stretch, scoring on only two of his first 33 shots, a 6.0% shooting percentage.
That slump has already cost him his spot on the top power-play unit, with Mike Sullivan turning to Gabe Perreault instead. Dorofeyev did show life against Anaheim, finishing with five shots on goal and four high-danger chances, but the only thing that showed up on the score sheet was a secondary assist.
A big night in Toronto, especially from the slot, would go a long way toward getting his special-teams role back.
On the blue line, Adam Fox is once again playing like a defenseman who belongs in the Norris Trophy discussion. He’s finding the right areas of the ice on both ends, and that’s been a big reason the Rangers have been able to bank wins. Toronto brings a dangerous attack with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and company, so Fox’s impact will matter in every zone.
And then there’s Dylan Garand, who has become one of the most compelling stories on the roster. With Igor Shesterkin out, Garand has stepped into the crease and delivered more than the Rangers could have reasonably asked for, helping keep the team above water during this early stretch.
The bigger question is how long this can last. Joonas Korpisalo is still not close to game action, and the Rangers are expected to keep leaning on Garand through the rest of October because of his light workload.
What happens after that remains unclear, but Thursday night in Toronto should say plenty about where things stand for No. 33.
In Other News...
Rangers May Have A Sneaky Answer To Their Center Depth Problem
With injuries thinning the roster and Igor Shesterkin already lost for the season, the Rangers have been looking for ways to stabilize the middle of the ice, especially after Joe Veleno went down. One of the quieter answers may be Luke Glendening, a veteran center whose reputation has long been built on reliability, detail and the kind of depth presence teams lean on when the lineup starts to fray.
Mike Sullivan pointed to Glendenings experience as part of what makes him appealing in this role, especially for a team trying to preserve both structure and identity while waiting for healthier days. The fit makes sense on paper for the No. 4 center job, and now the question is whether the Rangers see enough to keep moving forward with him as more than a temporary look. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Sullivan Is Challenging A Rangers Debate Fans Already Feel
Mike Sullivan is already nudging into one of the Rangers familiar gray areas: how much trust to place in defensive numbers when they do not line up neatly with what coaches see on the ice. As training camp and roster evaluation grind on, Sullivan has stressed that context has to matter when looking at the blue line, especially when certain pairings are being used in harder defensive situations against stronger opposition.
One pairing he highlighted was Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi, the new second pair he believes has supplied solid minutes even if the underlying metrics do not always flatter them. It is the kind of debate that can shape how the Rangers are judged internally and by fans, because the team will keep trying to balance analytics with the more traditional eye test while sorting out who really fits where on defense. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Prospect Pipeline Has One Encouraging Sign Fans Should Notice
A handful of Rangers prospects in Europe kept their seasons moving last week, and the most encouraging signs came from players starting to show a little more offensively. Tom Chrenko has been part of HK Nitras recent winning stretch in Slovakia, Ivan Patrikhayev is back in CSKA Moscows lineup with more ice time and an assist, and Mikkel Eriksen added his second SHL goal for Frjestad BK, all useful reminders that the system still has young players making progress in different leagues.
Rico Gredig also got into action for EV Zug in Switzerland and put three shots on goal, while Samuel Jung skated for KalPas U20 team in Finland as he works his way back from a concussion. For the Rangers, the bigger takeaway is less about any single box score and more about seeing several prospects stay active, contribute in different ways, and keep building momentum overseas while the club continues to track its pipeline. [Read more 🡒]