After a sluggish preseason, the New York Rangers and new head coach Peter Laviolette opened the 2023-24 NHL season with a convincing 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, Oct. 12. It took just one matchup for the Blushirts to turn in a full 60-minute effort, and their new system was evident throughout all three zones in the victory.
Alexis Lafreniere got things rolling with his first goal of the season, followed by a power-play goal from Chris Kreider to give the Rangers a two-goal lead after one period. Artemi Panarin wristed a laser into the net to push the lead up to three before J.J. Peterka brought the Sabres back within two. After some brilliant penalty killing and a lot of shot blocking, Kreider got his second short-handed marker, and Jacob Trouba added an empty-netter to seal it.
The Rangers skated with a purpose, silencing a crowd geared up for the home opener by simply eliminating any semblance of a high-quality chance against them. Buffalo’s lone goal came from an Owen Power shot that was blocked by Trouba, but the puck happened to ricochet to the stick of Peterka. Outside of that, the Blueshirts held down the fort.
Igor Shesterkin was fabulous when he was called upon, and the Rangers cruised to a season-opening win. It might have been just one game, but there are many positives to take away from it.
Rangers Revamped Structure Paid Off Game One
There are still 81 games left, and a lot of time for a great start to fade and be revealed as a facade. However, in their 5-1 victory, the Rangers looked noticeably different in their structure through all three zones, but primarily the neutral zone. The Sabres are a young, skilled, and fast team, the chemical makeup of the Rangers’ kryptonite.
Yet, the Rangers’ neutral zone play and mixing in a 1-3-1 trap forecheck in the game’s later stages stymied Buffalo’s ability to break into the Rangers’ zone cleanly. At five-on-five, the Rangers had a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 52.5, per Natural Stat Trick. They forced the Sabres to dump the puck in and try to retrieve it by standing up at the blue line and disrupting Buffalo’s speed game.
When Buffalo did get set up, the willingness to sacrifice the body and block shots was terrific. The Rangers had 23 blocked shots, an impressive total. But despite the tremendous courage, the structure led to the impressive win. The neutral zone was strong. There was much less chasing in their own end, staying with their man and exiting the zone when the opportunity arose.
They had sustained offensive zone pressure and caused turnovers due to back pressure when the Sabres were trying to escape with the puck. All 18 skaters in the lineup bought in last night, and the Laviolette system worked like a charm.
Rangers’ Line Combinations Meshed Great
Laviolette rolled with the line combinations that nearly everyone wanted to see on opening night. The trio of Kaapo Kakko, Lafreniere, and Filip Chytil were in the top-six, with a solid fourth line and a big third line that can create with the puck. Every line had their moments, and each player looked very comfortable with whoever was on the ice at any given time.
According to Money Puck, every Rangers line had more expected goals for at five-on-five than expected goals against in the season opener. Panarin-Chytil-Lafreniere led the way with 0.909 expected goals for, vs. their opponent’s meager 0.062. The second line was responsible for two five-on-five goals and looked superb in the first game action together this season.
The Rangers’ second line registered a 73.7 CF% in the opener. Mika Zibanejad and Kreider were their usual dynamic duo, with Kakko proving he belongs on that line. They will look to get Kakko on the scoresheet in the second game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, Oct. 14.
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Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, and Blake Wheeler looked solid as well, posting a 55 CF% at five-on-five. The Rangers’ fourth line held their own, with Tyler Pitlick, Barclay Goodrow, and Nick Bonino forechecking hard, although all three truly left their mark on the penalty kill.
Alexis Lafreniere Looks at Home in Top-Six
After a subpar preseason and training camp, Lafreniere was awarded with a top-six role, playing alongside Panarin and Chytil. It was the first true opportunity for him to grab the reigns and run with it, and the 22-year-old did just that.
It was arguably his most complete game as a Ranger, with his feet moving right out of the gate. He got the Rangers on the board first, crashing the net hard and depositing a beautiful feed from Panarin into the back of the net. He might have finished the game with the one goal as the only offensive stat on his box score, but when Panarin scored to make it 3-0 on a wrist shot from the slot, all eyes were on Lafreniere’s hard work leading up to the goal.
Although he did not officially get the assist, Lafreniere forced a Buffalo turnover inside their blue line, with the loose puck landing on Panarin’s stick in prime scoring position. He was productive playing alongside two highly skilled players in Panarin and Chytil and needs to continue proving he belongs in the mix as one of the Rangers’ top forwards.
Overall, he didn’t see an uptick in ice time, playing just 15:22 in the season opener, but he was more impactful due to the linemates and situation he was in. He also saw 2:28 of power play time, with the first and second groups splitting the time pretty evenly.
It was a vote of confidence for Lafrienere that, despite a rough camp, new head coach Laviolette still placed him in a more prominent role from the jump. The former first-overall pick needs to crash the net consistently to pick up points this season. His hands in tight allow him to finish off plays, and his linemates love finding ways to get the puck to the high-danger areas.
Hopefully, Lafreniere and the Rangers can continue their stellar play from game one into Saturday night’s meeting with the Blue Jackets.
