The New York Rangers are off to a hot start, fighting through the loss of superstar goaltender Igor Shesterkin to win six of their first eight games behind blistering play from Alexis Lafreniere.
The 25-year-old winger scored two goals in a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday as the Rangers improved to 6-2-0. It was the third time in his past four games that Lafreniere tallied multiple points, and he has seven goals and 10 points in an ongoing five-game point streak.
“He’s evolving into that next phase of his career,” captain J.T. Miller said of Lafreniere after Tuesday’s game, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. “He’s getting to that point in his career where he’s learning a lot, and he knows what works and what doesn’t. He’s got such an elite talent level and offensive instinct that he doesn’t need much to get open.”
Only Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (eight) has more goals than Lafreniere this season.
Lafreniere has been a consistent player over the first six seasons of his career, tallying 260 points in 470 games. But being the first-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and the expectations that come along with that, have hung a shadow over his career in New York.
“It’s a big part of team success,” Miller said when asked what Lafreniere’s growth could mean. “You have guys that play in the league (in their early 20s), and you have to learn at some point, ‘OK, how do I take that next step?’ It doesn’t happen overnight. I’m sure everybody wants it with Laf tomorrow, but it’s a work in progress. He’s just getting better and better, and right now he’s burying on all of his looks.”
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has been coaching against Lafreniere since the winger made his NHL debut in 2020, and was effusive in his praise for the young player.
“There’s a reason he’s still playing here,” Cooper said, as he thought back to coaching against the Rangers and their ‘Kid Line’ of Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko in the 2022 Eastern Conference Final. Kakko and Chytil have since been traded to Seattle and Vancouver, respectively.
“It’s tough when you’re the first-overall pick and expectations are so high. Guys develop at different times, but we’re (eight) games in, (and) he’s basically at a goal-a-game pace. Probably what people thought he was going to be like in his career; it just took him maybe a little bit longer.”
The Rangers are coming off a season in which they finished worst in the Metropolitan Division at 34-39-9. The loss of Shesterkin, who is a former Vezina Trophy winner and one of the best goaltenders in the league, will make improving upon last year’s points total a difficult task.
But the emergence of Lafreniere can help in a significant way.
“We’re playing the right way,” Tye Kartye said of his line, which includes Miller and Lafreniere. “[Especially] when you add somebody as skilled as Laf, I think, the way he’s able to make plays and hold on to the puck.”