The Rangers are making a few noticeable adjustments as they get set for Monday night’s meeting with the Kings at Madison Square Garden, and the night carries a familiar twist: former coach Peter Laviolette is back at MSG, along with Artemi Panarin.
New York’s recent slide has pushed coach Mike Sullvan to tinker with the lineup again. Three forward combinations were changed at Monday’s morning skate, a move that comes after the Rangers’ overall game has slipped on the road, especially in their own end.
The biggest personnel change is in goal. James Reimer was the first goalie off the ice and is expected to make his Rangers debut, giving Dylan Garand a breather after the 24-year-old rookie opened seven straight games once Igor Shesterkin went down with a season-ending knee injury on Oct. 9.
“We’re asking a lot of Dylan. He just had 7 starts in a row,” coach Mike Sullvan explained Monday morning. “I think there’s a physical challenge to it, but there’s also a mental challenge to it.”
Reimer arrived on a one-year deal Sunday, two days after stopping 35 shots in a 2-0 shutout for Hartford of the American Hockey League in his lone game on a PTO. The 38-year-old veteran has played for nine NHL teams and brings 539 games of NHL experience, including 14 with Ottawa last season.
The night off for Garand is more about managing the workload than making any statement about his status. He’ll get a longer break now, with the Rangers not playing again until Sunday at home against the Edmonton Oilers.
Garand had allowed five goals in each of his last two starts, both losses in Canada that stretched New York’s road winless streak to five games at 0-4-1. The Rangers fell 7-4 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, with two empty-net goals in the mix, and dropped a 5-4 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. In both games, their defensive-zone work was an issue.
At home, though, the Rangers have looked like a different team. They are 6-0-0 at MSG and have not trailed in 360 minutes of hockey there.
Sullvan also appears ready to keep some of the in-game changes he made on Saturday. Oliver Bjorkstrand skated in the top six, Pavel Dorofeyev lined up on the third line, and Eeli Tolvanen worked on the fourth line.
The Kings come in at 2-5-2 and are in the fourth stop of a five-game road trip. They won their first two games on the trip before a 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Los Angeles is averaging just 2.33 goals per game, which ties it for 28th in the League, and Panarin leads the way with six goals and nine points in nine games.
Laviolette’s return adds another layer to the night. It’s his first game back since the Rangers let him go after the 2024-25 season. The Kings hired him this past offseason after he took a year away from coaching.
Over two seasons in New York, Laviolette went 94-59-11 and helped the Rangers post franchise marks for wins and points in 2023-24, when they finished with 55 wins and 115 points and captured the Presidents’ Trophy.
“It was kind of a tale of two years,” Laviolette told reporters Monday. “The first year was really good, I mean, most wins and most points and a very storied franchise.
Took it to three rounds to Florida and lost in Game 6 (of the Eastern Conference Final), and that was disappointing. Not to win a couple more games and get that chance to play for the Cup.
“But, overall, looking back at that year, it was a year that was really good. It was something that I’ll remember being here in New York. Obviously, the second year was not as smooth and had problems inside of it.“
New York Rangers projected lineup
Gabe Perreault - Mika Zibanejad - Alexis Lafreniere
Tye Kartye - J.T. Miller - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Will Cuylle - Noah Laba - Pavel Dorofeyev
Eeli Tolvanen - Luke Glendening - Taylor Raddysh
Valdislav Gavrikov - Adam Fox
Marcus Pettersson - Sean Durzi
Alberts Smits - Braden Schneider
James Reimer
Dylan Garand
Rangers vs. Kings: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Los Angeles Kings
When: Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m. ET
How to watch: MSG
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