BUFFALO – If you needed a reminder that preseason results should be taken with a large grain of salt, you got it Thursday night.
The New York Rangers, who won only one of their six exhibition contests, got off to a rousing start to the 2023-24 regular season.
They had their way against the host Sabres in a 5-1 victory that had new head coach Peter Laviolette’s fingerprints all over it.
“The results weren’t there in the exhibition games, but you could see in the practices after that, that they were just doing things at a faster pace and a higher pace,” Laviolette said. “It’s nice that they get rewarded.”
Column: Chance to take on new identity begins in Buffalo
It was fitting that Alexis Lafrenière made the first big play at the KeyBank Center. No player came close to facing as much criticism during training camp − some of it warranted, but much of it overblown hot takes based on inconsequential preseason games.
All it took was 3:47 for that to become a distant memory. That’s when the 22-year-old notched the Blueshirts’ first goal of the new season to fuel a hot start.
The confidence that seemed to waver during camp returned in force Thursday − although, after the game, Lafrenière was careful not to take any victory laps or overanalyze his performance.
“I try to play and not think too much out there,” he said. “I can always be better, obviously. That’s what I’m trying to do every day. I try to practice well and get ready for game one.”
Lafrenière did a fine job of that, as he was active with the puck, showing off some of the touch and vision the Rangers hope to see more of, and noticeably engaged in board battles and 50-50 pucks. He finished with three shots on goal, one hit, one takeaway and went a surprising 4-for-5 on faceoff attempts.
Laviolette saw signs in the days leading up to the opener, saying on Wednesday, “His last few practices have probably been his best.”
“He took a step from those practices and brought it into the game,” the bench boss added after Thursday’s game.
That translated to an encouraging night for the former No. 1 overall draft pick, but the best player on the ice was on his opposite wing.
While Lafrenière heard it from fans throughout the preseason, Artemi Panarin has faced more heat than any Ranger for the team’s playoff disappointment last spring.
How many times has it been written − in this space and others − that the 31-year-old failed to record a point in the final six games of their first-round series against the New Jersey Devils?
A dejected Panarin came into camp with that frustration clearly still weighing on him, saying, “There’s no way you can forget it that easily. It’s probably only hockey that will help me.”
He got some of the help he needed in Buffalo − mostly by helping himself.
“I feel pretty good now, as you can imagine,” he said with a grin. “Tomorrow I’ll go with a smile into Starbucks.”
No. 10 came out flying on his first shift and never looked back.
When Panarin is at his best, he constantly has the puck on his stick. But in the depths of his playoff struggles, he looked hesitant and disengaged.
He knows he needs to assert himself and trust that, while mistakes will happen, his playmaking instincts will make many of those risks pay off.
That was the player we saw Thursday − but, like his new linemate, Lafrenière, Panarin didn’t want to make too much of it.
“You’re trying to catch me saying something great about (myself),” he said with another smile. “I don’t want to do that. Hockey shows everything, like I said.”
Lafrenière’s goal was the direct result of Panarin following his own shot, scooping up the rebound and gliding a pass to the far post for an easy finish.
Later in the second period, he would net a goal of his own − this one on a screaming wrister from the slot.
“I thought he played a really smart game,” Laviolette said. “I didn’t see high-risk hockey. I saw a really good player making plays out there tonight. I don’t think we want to get into a high-risk game. I think we want to have good structure and play good defense, and with that, I think we’ll be able to generate. He’s certainly one of those players that can generate.”
Panarin’s entire line, which featured Filip Chytil in the middle, was able to accomplish that.
They didn’t get any preseason games together due to an upper-body injury that cost Chytil nearly two weeks of practice, but that didn’t seem to make much difference. That trio out-shot the Sabres, 10-1, according to Natural Stat Trick, and were buzzing from start to finish.
“I thought that line was excellent,” Laviolette said.
A complete effort
Sandwiched in between scoring plays from Lafrenière and Panarin was a power-play goal from net-front artist Chris Kreider, who tipped in a point shot from Adam Fox at the 12:22 mark in the first period.
Buffalo finally cut into the 3-0 lead when JJ Peterka buried a shot on a loose puck that had just been blocked by Jacob Trouba late in the second period, but that was the Rangers’ only blemish.
Igor Shesterkin was sharp when needed, finishing with 23 saves to earn his 100th career win in just 159 games.
But the Blueshirts holding the young-and-skilled Sabres to 24 shots on goal speaks to a solid defensive effort. They clogged the neutral zone with Laviolette’s left-wing lock system and limited Buffalo’s time of possession, allowing only four high-danger scoring chances at even strength.
Many of the points of emphasis the new coach stressed throughout camp were evident in the on-ice product.
“It was simple things, like back-pressuring pucks and trying to stay in the battles and trying to have attention to detail,” Laviolette said. “There’s a lot that went into training camp. They put a lot into it. They worked really hard, and it’s nice to – we called it before the game – take it for a test drive. It’s one game, but there were positives to pull from that. The guys played hard.”
The Rangers sealed the win by killing back-to-back penalties in the latter half of the third period, part of a 3-for-3 night from the PK.
It was highlighted by crucial blocked shots from Lindgren and Trouba − New York finished with 23 of those, which certainly seemed to please Laviolette − and a shorthanded goal from Kreider for his second tally of the night.
“The penalty kill was absolutely courageous,” the coach said. “The way they defended and the way they blocked shots, it was something else.”
Trouba scored the fifth and final goal on an empty-netter with 1:29 remaining, with the Rangers onto Columbus for their second game of the season against the Blue Jacets at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: Lafrenière, Panarin lead Rangers to rousing start
