RALEIGH, N.C. — There was a time when Alexis Lafreniere had nowhere to hide.
Now he is ignored and undervalued.
Expectations were high as Lafreniere was selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 draft, making him the Rangers’ first No. 1 overall pick since the Universal Draft began in 1970.
As such, Lafreniere became something of a lightning rod for Rangers fans who expected greatness to match their draft pick.
The 91 points Lafreniere scored in his first three seasons weren’t enough in the eyes of fans who expected and wanted more.
But that story is changing before our eyes.
That change was evident during the regular season, when Lafreniere set career highs in goals (28), assists (29) and points (57).
And that was even more true in these playoffs, where Lafniere had a huge goal and an assist as the Rangers beat the Hurricanes in overtime 3-2 in Game 3 of the second round of the playoff series on Thursday night at PNC Arena. decided.
This came two days after Lafreniere scored two goals in a 4-3 double-overtime win in Game 2 between the Rangers and the Hurricanes on Tuesday at the Garden. This brings him to three goals in the last two games.
Lafreniere is currently impacting the Rangers’ biggest games.
He scored at 6:25 of the third period Thursday to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
Then, after the Canes made it 6-5 at the 18:24 mark of the third inning to send the game into overtime, Lafreniere assisted Artemi Panarin’s game-winning goal 1:43 into overtime to seal the win. They built an overwhelming lead in the series, 3 wins and 0 losses. The Rangers can pick up a win against the Canes on Saturday night against PNC.
Lafreniere has three goals, six assists, and nine points in seven postseason games.
Along with his career-best regular season performance, even these numbers don’t jump off the page when you factor in the two linemates he plays with, Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
Panarin led the Rangers with 49 goals and 120 points in the regular season, and the versatile Trocheck is arguably the team’s most important two-way player.
But don’t sleep on Lafreniere.
“There’s always a lot of pressure on young players to come in and make an impact right away, but the way he’s worked so far and believed in himself has been amazing.” [up] His confidence, it was amazing,” Rangers winger Mika Zibanejad said. “He, Toro, and Pan.” [Panarin] It was a wonderful chemical reaction. They are playing some great hockey for us.
“Raffey is a stud. We’re happy to have him.”
So did Rangers manager Peter Laviolette, under whom Lafreniere had the best season of his career.
“It was a big goal,” Laviolette said of Lafreniere’s opening goal in the third period. “He didn’t have a lot of time to get that puck in the slot, but it was a hell of a shot. That line was great and obviously had a big impact on the game tonight.”
Who would have predicted a few years ago that Lafniere would have such a big impact on the Rangers’ run to the Stanley Cup?
It’s not based on his first three seasons’ work.
“I can’t talk specifically about Ruff, but I can’t talk about the past,” Laviolette said. “All I can talk about is the last six months. He has been pretty consistent with some players. This policy has been very productive for us and he is part of it.
“He is playing with some good players. He is a main player who can do this.
“But given Ruff’s skill level and his growth throughout this year, we cannot discount Ruff’s accomplishments. As the season progresses and the playoffs progress, he becomes more and more confident.”
Rangers veteran winger Chris Kreider, who scored the team’s first goal on a beautiful short shot in the second period, sat next to Lafreniere during the team’s postgame media interview, and I asked him, I asked him how he sees Nyere raising his game in this match. play off.
“Ulf Samuelsson” [a former Ranger player and assistant coach] I told our team a while ago that you don’t improve yourself in the playoffs and rely on your habits. [Lafreniere] He has some incredible quirks for a young guy,” Kreider said. “The way he shows up to the rink, the way he works on his craft. … He wants to get better, he wants to make an impact, he wants to win.
“He’s an incredible player. We’re really happy to have him.”
