PITTSBURGH — Rangers’ Season Opener Highlights
On Thursday night in Buffalo, Alexis Lafreniere netted the Rangers’ first goal of the 2025-26 season.
The goal came after a rebound from Artemi Panarin’s shot, just under 12 minutes into the first period. Lafreniere skillfully maneuvered through traffic to push the puck past Sabers goaltender Alex Ryan.
“I’m really happy we scored early on,” Lafreniere shared after the 4-0 victory. “It was a great play. Bred (Panarin) was trying to get in front, and there was a lucky bounce, so I’m pleased I was able to score.”
This marked Lafreniere’s 93rd career goal, tying him with Alex Kovalev for the fourth-most goals by a Ranger before turning 24. When Lafreniere scores, the Rangers have an impressive record—69 wins, 11 losses, and 5 overtime losses over 85 regular season games.
The line, including Panarin, Lafreniere, and Vincent Trocheck, performed significantly better in Game 2 compared to Game 1. However, Trocheck exited in the second period with an upper-body injury and didn’t return.
If Trocheck needs to sit out, Juuso Parsinen or Johnny Brodzinski could step in. Both players can handle center duties, but head coach Mike Sullivan might opt to shift Mika Zibanejad back to that position to maintain balance in the top six.
Parsinen recently signed a two-year contract with the Rangers and may be the first option, but Brodzinski offers Sullivan flexibility as he can also play on the wing.
How Sullivan adjusts the top six without Trocheck will be crucial moving forward.
The Rangers’ penalty kill has started strong this season, going 5-for-5 in the opener, including a perfect 4-for-4 against Buffalo. Since the 2023-24 season, they’ve been impressive in away games, ranking third in the NHL with an 82.1% penalty kill rate.
Looking ahead, Saturday’s matchup against the Penguins will kick off a challenging stretch of 12 consecutive games for the Rangers this season.
Notably, since returning to the Rangers on February 1, 2025, JT Miller has led the team with 13 multi-point games, ranking second across the NHL in that timeframe.
