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[New York Rangers]

Why there’s plenty reason to question if Rangers have right GM for retool

The New York Rangers did not make the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. They will not make them this season. Barring some kind of miraculous turnaround, it’s hard to imagine they’ll qualify for the postseason in 2026-27.

Unless Rangers owner James Dolan changes his mind, all three of those seasons will have one thing in common: Chris Drury as the general manager.

Dolan went on WFAN radio on Jan. 6 and was asked if he still believed in Drury, even after the Rangers failed to make the playoffs in 2024-25, one year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy. His response: “Yes, absolutely. He and (coach) Mike Sullivan are installing a new culture into that club, and that does not happen overnight. … What I can tell you about Mr. Drury from the day I hired him is Chris Drury is a winner and a competitor. He’s won, himself, he can’t stand to lose.”

But since then, the Rangers have done almost nothing but lose — they’ve dropped seven of eight going into a road game Friday against the San Jose Sharks and are last in the Eastern Conference.

Drury sent a letter to Blueshirts fans last Friday basically throwing in the towel on this season and telling everyone that changes – likely major ones — are coming.

A Message from Chris Drury to Our Fans pic.twitter.com/JVimBJ59B7

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 16, 2026

The question in the minds of the fans who chant “Fire Drury” as they watch loss after loss at Madison Square Garden is whether he’s the right person to make those changes.

Chris Drury’s tenure has many questioning if Rangers GM is right person to lead them​

Peter Carr/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Drury does have some accomplishments since taking over as president and GM, after Dolan fired John Davidson and Jeff Gorton in May 2021. The Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, and won the Presidents’ Trophy as regular-season champion in 2023-24.

The two trips to the East Final came under different coaches. Drury fired Gerard Gallant after the Rangers were ousted in the first round of the playoffs in 2023. He hired Peter Laviolette, who had great success in his first season but got the axe after the Rangers missed the playoffs in 2024-25.

Drury finally got his man when the Rangers hired Sullivan, a two-time Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, on May 2. But the Pens missed the playoffs in each of his last three seasons, and he’ll begin a fourth straight early summer in April.

What the Rangers accomplished in Drury’s first three seasons isn’t nothing; however, most of the personnel that accomplished those feats joined the team before Drury’s ascension to the GM role. But that’s also one of the problems — the Rangers under Drury drafted poorly and struggled to develop talent.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Noah Laba, a center taken in the fourth round (No. 111) of the 2022 NHL Draft, is the only player selected under Drury’s aegis who’s become an NHL regular – he made the team as a third-line center this season but that’s likely his ceiling. Brennan Othmann, his initial first-round pick (No. 16 overall in 2021) scored his first goal last week in his 34th NHL game.

Forward Gabe Perreault, taken with the 23rd pick in 2023, is the Rangers’ top under-23 player, according to The Athletic – and he’s No. 120 (middle of the lineup player) among the 137 players in its rankings (in contrast, the archrival New York Islanders have four of the top 50).

Perreault shows flashes of promise as he settles into a regular NHL role, but the 20-year-old has all of three goals and seven points in 23 NHL games and needs to add strength and speed to complement his skills and smarts.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Rangers also failed to develop their prospects. It’s a trend that goes back to Drury’s pre-GM days; after joining the Rangers in 2015, he was director of player personnel, assistant GM and general manager at AHL Hartford, and associate GM. Perhaps Drury didn’t have final say on draft disasters like Lias Andersson (No. 7 in 2017) and Vitaly Kravtsov (No. 9 in 2018) or disappointments such as Kaapo Kakko (No. 2 in 2019) and Alexis Lafreniere (No. 1 in 2020), but he was certainly involved in the process.

Andersson and Kravtsov are gone from the NHL. Drury traded Kakko to the Seattle Kraken in December 2024 for bottom-four defenseman Will Borgen (and signed him to a five-year, $20.5 million contract extension).

Lafreniere isn’t a bust, but he’s nowhere near being what NHL teams expect when they get the No. 1 pick in the draft. His 28-goal, 57-point season in 2023-24 represents career highs in both categories. At age 24, Lafreniere is a useful middle-six forward who has yet to show he can be anything more than that.

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

One area where Drury appears to have smartened up is moving on from veterans. He angered the locker room with his handling of Barclay Goodrow’s departure in the summer of 2024, as well as his letter to the other 31 NHL general managers early in the 2024-25 season indicating that captain Jacob Trouba and veteran forward Chris Kreider were available for trade despite each player having a 15-team no-trade clause in his contract.

Trouba did agree to be dealt to the Anaheim Ducks in December 2024 – but quickly went public with his displeasure over the way the trade was handled. Drury must have learned something from that, because Kreider complemented the team on how he was treated when the Rangers sent him to Anaheim last June.

GM Chris Drury must make decisions on trading key Rangers veterans​

Drury also got out ahead of things with Artemi Panarin last week. The GM reportedly told Panarin a contract extension is not forthcoming for the pending unrestricted free agent, and the Rangers will try to move him ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.

Panarin, who turns 35 on Oct. 30 and carries an average annual value of $11.642 million, has a full no-move clause, so he can determine if he wants to be traded and where he’s willing to go. He’s No. 1 on TSN’s latest “Trade Bait” list.

Threading this needle won’t be so easy since the Rangers and Panarin’s representation must work together on sending New York’s leading scorer six years running somewhere that he’ll sign off on. Can Drury be trusted with this delicate situation, one that is crucial to get right for the Rangers?

Center Mika Zibanejad and captain J.T. Miller are 32 and have lengthy contracts with no-move clauses. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Drury offers them a chance to move on, though Miller reportedly isn’t going anywhere. Two-way center Vincent Trocheck, also 32, has three more seasons remaining on a deal with an AAV of $5.625 million and could draw plenty of interest from Stanley Cup contenders.

These aren’t salary dumps. The Rangers need Drury to make sound hockey trades now. Is he capable of doing so?

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Drury and the Rangers also have to decide what to do about 24-year-old defenseman Braden Schneider, a situation not dissimilar to what they faced with K’Andre Miller a year ago. They again have a young D-man, a former first-round draft pick, who’s been a lineup regular for five seasons yet backsliding in his development. Like Miller, Schneider’s due a sizeable raise as a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights at season’s end.

He sent Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1; does the same fate await Schneider, who’s already drawing interest ahead of the trade deadline? And what would he bring back? That’s a young valuable asset, as is Lafreniere. The Rangers must maximize the return to the fullest if they move on from either Lafreniere or Schneider.

The GM isn’t going anywhere. Dolan loves him some Chris Drury – a lot more than most Rangers fans do these days. Whether he’ll still love him after a second straight playoff miss, a batch of trades, a free-agent market all but devoid of big names to lead the retool, and not a whole lot of talent in the pipeline is still to be determined.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/chris-drury-trust-retool-trade-rumors

 

[New York Rangers]

Slow start dooms Rangers in 3-1 loss to Sharks: Takeaways

The New York Rangers won’t be sorry to head back to the snow and cold of the Big Apple after completing an 0-fer of a California trip with a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Friday night.

As has been the case in several games recently, the Rangers didn’t start on time. They spotted the Sharks a two-goal lead in the first 3:08 and, as has been the case recently, spent the rest of the night unsuccessfully chasing the game.

“We weren’t quite ready to play,” captain J.T. Miller said. “They came out with more urgency than we did.”

Macklin Celebrini, the first player taken in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored two of San Jose’s three first-period goals, all of which came in the first 7:37. Nearly three months to the day earlier, Celebrini had a hat trick and two assists in the Sharks’ 6-5 overtime win at Madison Square Garden. The 19-year-old has 26 goals in 50 games, one more than he scored last season while winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. The 19-year-old became the second-youngest player in NHL history to score 50 career goals, trailing only Sidney Crosby.

WILL SMITH TO MACKLIN CELEBRINI

THIS DUO STRIKES AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/8PjFVWhq8R

— NHL (@NHL) January 24, 2026

Sam Carrick scored the lone Rangers’ goal and centered their best line for most of the night. But the Blueshirts hurt themselves by taking seven minor penalties; the Sharks cashed in their first two power plays and spent 12:25 playing a man up.

The loss in San Jose came after the Rangers fell 5-3 to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday and 4-3 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, and it dropped them to 1-7-1 in their past nine games. At 21-25-6, they are last in the Eastern Conference – 12 points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot in the East. The Bruins come to the Garden on Monday night.

It was also the 16th time this season the Rangers have scored one goal or been shut out. It was their first regulation loss to the Sharks since San Jose won 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 23, 2017, ending an 11-0-3 run. San Jose hadn’t beaten the Rangers in regulation at SAP Center since winning 4-1 on March 19, 2016.

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Puck drop was 7:12 local time in San Jose. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they weren’t ready to play – and paid the price.

Mika Zibanejad took a needless tripping penalty 29 seconds into the game, and Celebrini got his first of the night 40 seconds later. He was at the back door when Tyler Toffoli’s pass across the crease hit his leg and caromed past Spencer Martin.

Matthew Robertson air-mailed a clearing pass over the glass at 1:23, and the Sharks made the Rangers pay again. New York couldn’t clear the zone, and Michael Misa’s pass found Pavol Regenda alone in the slot. Regenda’s superb backhander zipped past Martin at 3:08 and it was 2-0.

“We have to do a better job of staying out of the box,” center Vincent Trocheck said.

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Coach Mike Sullivan then called his timeout, but it didn’t help. San Jose’s Collin Graf took the puck away from Will Borgen and got it to Will Smith, who found Celebrini alone in the slot for a one-timer that beat Martin at 7:37 to make it 3-0.

At that point, the shots on goal were 9-1 for the Sharks, and it looked like the Rangers were going to get run out of the building. But to their credit, the visitors finally found their game and began pushing back.

Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin each got past San Jose’s defense but couldn’t beat Alex Nedeljkovic. But the fourth line could – Carrick capped a hard-working shift that kept the Sharks pinned in their own zone by scoring on a spinning wrister at 12:50 to cut the deficit to 3-1 — the period ended that way, with the Sharks outshooting the Rangers 17-11.

Sam Carrick gets the Rangers on the board pic.twitter.com/P3mzxU8aA3

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 24, 2026

“Weren’t quite ready to play. You feel like you are, but they come out flying,” Miller said. “They draw two penalties. They capitalize. The building was rocking. I don’t know, we just kind of beat ourselves.”

There was a more positive vibe in the second period, when the Rangers outshot the Sharks 11-7 and had the better of the play. They had more zip in their step, kept the Sharks mostly to the outside while killing a pair of penalties and had the better chances at 5-on-5. What they didn’t get was a goal – neither team scored in the middle period.

The Sharks did an excellent job keeping the space in front of Nedeljkovic clear during the third period, and the Rangers didn’t help themselves by giving San Jose two more power plays. New York had plenty of zone time after pulling Martin with just under four minutes remaining but didn’t get a Grade A scoring chance before the final horn sounded.

Key takeaways after Rangers end California trip with 3-1 loss to Sharks​

Another slow start = another loss​

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The Rangers played pretty well for the final 50 minutes. The problem was that by then, they were already in too big a hole.

San Jose came out flying, converting two early Rangers penalties into power-play goals. The Sharks were flying; the Rangers were not.

“There’s no hiding the fact that the start kills us, really,” Zibanejad said. “Even though we get that 3-1 goal and we’re trying to climb back. It’s, it’s just a constant try to come back and try to chase. We’re wasting a lot of energy on playing like that too.”

Sullivan blamed himself for the recent run of poor starts, which included allowing a goal 18 seconds into the loss in L.A.

“I have to do a better job preparing them,” he said. “I have to make sure they’re ready from the drop of the puck.”

The Rangers played a solid game for the final 2 1/2 periods. The problem was that by then, they were already in too big a hole.

Fourth line produces, top six don’t​

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Carrick was the Rangers’ best forward, scoring their only goal and combining with linemates Taylor Raddysh and Anton Blidh to generate a number of good scoring opportunities in their limited ice time.

In contrast, the top-six forwards didn’t do much.

Zibanejad (10-game point streak) and Miller (four-game multi-point streak) didn’t do much. Nor did Panarin, their leading scorer, who was held pointless for the second straight game after a 10-game streak.

All three were on the ice for the Sharks’ only even-strength goal.

Sharks win battle of No. 1 picks​

The Rangers (2020) and Sharks (2024) had the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft four years apart. Suffice it to say the Sharks are a lot happier with Celebrini than the Rangers are with Alexis Lafreniere.

Celebrini is a star in the making, and he’s the biggest reason the Sharks are contending for a playoff berth after finishing last overall in 2024-25. He was the most dangerous player on the ice for either team and is tied for third in the NHL scoring race with 74 points (26 goals, 48 assists).

“He’s been one of the best in the league,” Zibanejad said. “He’s not only showed that against us, he’s shown that against I feel like every team they’ve played. You look at what he’s been able to do, it’s obviously impressive. Unbelievable player, and at such a young age to be able to have the impact, that’s impressive. Kudos to him. Obviously, him playing well again didn’t help us.”

Meanwhile, Lafreniere went without a point in all three California games and has just 10 goals and 28 points in 52 games. Sullivan obviously wasn’t pleased with what he saw from No. 13 against the Sharks, giving him only 14:20 of ice time. It’s the third time in the past four games he played less than 15 minutes.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...w-start-leads-to-3-1-loss-to-sharks-takeaways

 

[New York Rangers]

Ex-Rangers star returns, annoyed by injury speculation: ‘people just don’t know’

For the first time in three months, Filip Chytil played in an NHL game Friday night. The former New York Rangers center was happy to be back, but clearly annoyed with the all the speculation about his latest injury.

Chytil centered a top-six line with Brock Boeser and Drew O’Connor on the wings, when the Vancouver Canucks lost 5-4 to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The 26-year-old didn’t land on the score sheet for the Canucks in his return from an upper-body injury, but did log 18:29 TOI, recorded two shots on goal, and, most importantly, emerged healthy.

“It wasn’t too bad” Chytil explained postgame. “Yeah, I have to look around more now. Of course the last moment from the last game that I played was a big hit, so the first couple shifts were getting my head back to the game and look around more. I think when the game went on, I felt better, even with the puck. But there’s still so much to work on because even if you practice for two months, that’s not a game. I need to feel better with each game.”

FILIP CHYTIL: ACTIVATED️

Happy to have you back, 72. pic.twitter.com/iMKHe7LNgG

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 24, 2026

Chytil had three goals in the first six games this season, before he was on the receiving end of a massive open-ice hit by Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson on Oct. 19. Not only was Chytil knocked out of the game, he landed on long-term injury reserve and missed the next 44 games.

Neither Chytil nor the Canucks disclosed the exact nature of the injury. But it was feared to be another concussion, of which Chytil’s had more than one during his nine NHL seasons. But before the game Friday, Chytil pushed back on speculation about exactly how many concussions he sustained in his hockey career.

“I’d read all these things in the media or whatever about how many concussions I’d had, like eight, and it’s just not true,” Chytil said Friday morning. “People who don’t know what I’m doing, trying to say what’s going on.

“I’m not gonna say how many concussions I had in my life, but yeah, the number, what people say on internet, is crazy. It’s just I know what kind of injuries those are. And I know what I’m going through, and my closest people here as well knows, so I’m not bothered about anything. And I just want to come back and play.”

Former Rangers center Filip Chytil downplays injury speculation: ‘they think I’m about to die’​

Bob Frid-Imagn Images

There’s no arguing that Chytil’s missed quite a bit of playing time in his career due to injury. It’s widely reported that he’s had concussions, as well as other head and neck issues.

Recently, Chytil played only 10 games with the Rangers in the 2023-24 season after sustaining a head injury in November and then a setback in January. After the Rangers traded him to the Canucks on Jan. 31 a year ago, Chytil didn’t finish the season after he was hit from behind by Jason Dickinson in a March 15 game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

To date, Chytil missed 169 regular-season games with the Rangers and Canucks due to injury.

Filip Chytil and Drew O’Connor make a nice give-and-go play, leading to a great scoring chance.

: Sportsnet | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/lLCEZwpVky

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) January 24, 2026

“People just don’t know,” Chytil said about the specifics of his health issues. “It’s like they think I’m about to die.”

What’s not debatable is that it sure was great to see No. 72 back in game action Friday. Not just because the woeful Canucks, who are 17-29-5 and last in the NHL, sorely missed him. But because he’s finally healthy again.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...ip-chytil-upset-concussion-injury-speculation

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers Daily: No 3rd period urgency for Blueshirts; Marner’s last laugh

How they started the game Friday night in San Jose certainly cost the New York Rangers yet again. But how the finished the 3-1 loss to the Sharks says quite a bit about the Blueshirts, as well.

Listen, there’s no getting past that allowing two goals in the first 3:08 and three in the opening 7:37 buried the Rangers, who were down 3-0 and being outshot 9-1 by time coach Mike Sullivan used his timeout to settle his beleaguered team down. Including Friday, that’s seven goals this month the Rangers surrendered in the first five minutes of a game. They’ve allowed 14 goals in the opening five minutes of a game this season, third most in the NHL.

As Mika Zibanejad said postgame, “You don’t win like that.”

Spot on. Just look at the Rangers overall record (21-25-6) for evidence of that truth.

But you know what? The Rangers stabilized their game, had the better of play through the second period, and were within 3-1 when the third period started. And they did zip with that opportunity.

Against a team that allows 3.46 goals against per game, third worst in the NHL, the Rangers barely tested Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in the third period. They managed seven shots on goal in the final 20 minutes, but spent most of the period on their heels, expending energy defending and simply flipping the puck out of their zone.

The Sharks held an expected goal share of 64.64 percent in the third period, per Natural Stat Trick.

When the Rangers did gain zone entry, it was the same sequence over and over: dump the puck in, give minimal effort trying to retrieve it, and the Sharks instead quickly turned play back the other way. It was actually fairly mind numbing.

Credit the Sharks, for sure. But blame the Rangers too. The visitors recorded a pair of back-to-back shots on goal by Brennan Othmann and Will Borgen within the first two minutes. They didn’t record another for roughly seven minutes, on a Will Cuylle short-handed attempt. They sat at four shots on goal for a nine-minute stretch until adding three more in the final couple minutes after goalie Spencer Martin was pulled for a sixth attacker.

Sense of urgency in the third period? Not so much. And that stands out as much as yet another horrific start.

New York Rangers news and analysis​

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

John Kreiser provides the key Rangers takeaways from the 3-1 loss in San Jose.

Kreiser also weighs in with a column questioning if Chris Drury is the right person to oversee this Rangers retool.

Speaking of that Rangers retool and its timeline, don’t expect the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline to be the be-all, end-all date for what needs to be done.

NHL news and rumors​

Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

New Jersey Hockey Now: As the Rangers fade away and out of the playoff race following an 0-3-0 California road swing, the Devils improved to 3-0-0 out in the Pacific Northwest with an exciting 5-4 win in Vancouver, climbing right back into things by winning for the fifth time in six games.

Sportsnet: Mitch Marner was right. Scotiabank Arena was pretty darn loud and filled with boos when the star forward returned to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs for the first time with the Vegas Golden Knights. But Marner had the last laugh following a 6-3 Vegas win Friday.

New York Post: Bo Horvat is expected back in the Islanders lineup Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres after a nine-game injury absence. However, defenseman Ryan Pulock is questionable with a lower-body injury.

Philly Hockey Now: The Rangers are linked to Shane Wright in recent trade rumors, but William James examines whether the Seattle Kraken center is a good fit for the Flyers.

Sportsnet: As for Wright, he’s doing his best to tune out any and all trade rumors.

Montreal Hockey Now: Always enjoy Marc Dumont’s Canadiens Mailbag, and this latest one again doesn’t disappoint

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/no-urgency-third-period-sharks

 

[New York Rangers]

Why Rangers must call up Dylan Garand for NHL audition

Though there’s not much to like about the current situation with the freefalling New York Rangers, it does create opportunities to find out what they have in certain players who might not otherwise get an opportunity this season. One of them should be Dylan Garand.

The Rangers’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft hasn’t been great with Hartford of the American Hockey League this season, but the 23-year-old goaltender is still held in high regard by some within the organization.

With the last-place Rangers (21-25-6) heading for a second straight season out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and star goalie Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve, there might never be a better time to find out whether Garand has what it takes to be a capable backup in the NHL. Especially since the Rangers raised the white flag and declared themselves in a retool phase last week.

Again, Garand hasn’t exactly earned a callup with his play. The fourth-year pro turned in a solid effort with 21 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Bridgeport Islanders in his most recent start Friday. In his four starts prior to that, however, he gave up 18 goals. Garand is 10-9-2 with a 2.98 goals-against average (30th among qualified AHL goalies) and .896 save percentage in 22 games this season. Pretty pedestrian numbers.

Yet Garand is also coming off a strong 2024-25 season, when he won 20 game for the first time and was an AHL All-Star. Garand finished 20-10-8 with a 2.73 GAA and .913 save percentage with the Wolf Pack last season. Before that, he played to his big-game reputation, posting a .922 save percentage in nine postseason games for Hartford in 2023-24 and a .935 mark in eight playoff contests in 2022-23.

Dylan Garand deserves NHL look during Igor Shesterkin injury absence​

Dylan Garand — photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack

The Rangers are 1-7-1 since Shesterkin went down with a lower-body injury in the first period a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Jan. 5. They allowed at least three goals in each of those nine games, and 45 total.

Veteran Jonathan Quick and journeyman Spencer Martin simply haven’t been good at all in place of Shesterkin, whose injury coincided with Adam Fox’s lower-body injury which forced the top-pair defenseman to LTIR.

Quick’s Hall of Fame career appears to be coming to an end. He’s struggled mightily with the increased workload. The 40-year-old gave up 31 goals over his past seven starts, two of which he was pulled from, and allowed five or more goals three times.

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Martin started three of the past four games, and his results in five games overall are not inspiring, evdienced by an .864 save percentage. It’s clear that the 30-year-old who played for five teams over parts of six NHL seasons is likely an AHL depth piece at best. With the Rangers facing a significant void in goal at the moment, and having lost 11 of their past 13, there’s little downside to giving Garand a handful of starts to see what he can do.

Of course, Garand’s AHL numbers aren’t the best, though it’s possible that playing for a substandard Wolf Pack outfit contributed to that. Hartford sits second-to-last in the Atlantic Division, doesn’t score a lot, has few legit NHL prospects on its roster, and owns a minus-25 goal differential.

The Rangers recalled Garand multiple times over the years, most recently in late November, although he’s yet to make his NHL debut. With Garand set to become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent after the season, it would behoove the Rangers to know whether they want to re-sign a prospect who can eventually contribute for them in the NHL, perhaps as soon as next season since Quick very well could retire following this one.

The sinking, goaltending-challenged Rangers have an unexpected window open to do just that. Garand can hardly do worse than Quick or Martin have of late, and he just might impress the Rangers enough to get his career track pointing back toward Broadway.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/dylan-garand-deserves-nhl-audition

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers Daily: Asking price for Panarin; Islanders coach benches top line

This shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but the New York Rangers reportedly are using the Brock Nelson trade from a year ago as the framework for what their asking price is for Artemi Panarin ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline.

Nelson was a pending unrestricted free agent, when the Islanders traded the veteran center to the Colorado Avalanche along with forward prospect William Dufour in exchange for a first- and third-round draft pick and top forward prospect Calum Ritchie.

“It sounds like that’s where the Rangers starting point is, with Panarin right now” Elliotte Friedman reported during Saturday Headlines on Sportsnet.

The draft picks are important, of course. But landing Ritchie was key for the Islanders. And you can bet that the Rangers want to land a similar emerging NHL player when they trade Panarin.

Ritchie was Colorado’s top prospect, a 2023 first-round pick, who was on the cusp of becoming an NHL regular at the age of 20. Needing an infusion of talented young NHL-ready talent, the Rangers absolutely must bring back at least one of those players in any Panarin trade, if not more. Let’s just remember that stockpiling all of those first-round picks in the first retool didn’t exactly work out so great for the Rangers.

“Now part of this is will he be willing to sign an extension. Are their places — he has a no-move clause so he controls where he goes — but I think some of the teams are wondering if an extension could be a part of this,” Friedman added.

A contract extension as part of a trade requirement by Panarin an/or his potential new team benefits the Rangers. Though it could complicate some trade talks, in the end the Rangers receive more in return for Panarin if he’s not simply a rental.

So, that’s why the Nelson trade package is viewed as a starting point for the Rangers. Though he eventually signed a three-year contract with the Avalanche in June, there was no extension in place with Nelson when the trade was consummated.

Friedman mentioned the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and Washington Capitals as possible destinations for Panarin. Though he added, “I concede that I’m always missing teams that are in on this.”

New York Rangers news and analysis​

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Without providing any further information or clarity, former Rangers center Filip Chytil dismissed speculation about the number of concussions he’s had. Chytil returned from a three-month injury absence Friday for the Vancouver Canucks in a 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Here’s a closer look at why the Rangers’ lack of urgency in the third period of a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks was so concerning Friday.

Of course, as John Kreiser points out in his key Rangers takeaways after that loss, another brutal start is what really buried the Blueshirts at the Shark Tank.

NHL news and rumors​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

New York Post: Islanders coach Patrick Roy benched his top line of Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and Anders Lee for the entire third period of their 5-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, after Barzal and Duclair failed to give much of an effort trying to stop Tage Thompson’s breakaway goal in the second period.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: So, Evgeni Malkin said earlier in the week he plans to play another season in the NHL. But Dan Kingerski reports that there’s no contract offer from the Penguins on the table, nor is it known what GM Kyle Dubas’ plan is with the future Hall of Famer.

TSN: Coming off a 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs canceled practice Saturday, with coach Craig Berube pointing to a lack of energy by his team — a rest day better than grinding through another day on the ice in this condensed and crushing NHL schedule.

Daily Faceoff: As the trade rumors swirl, here’s a breakdown of where Elias Pettersson could best fit if the Vancouver Canucks decide to move their top center ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.

New Jersey Hockey Now: James Nichols reports that — not surprisingly — trade talks involving Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton slowed in the wake of teammate Luke Hughes sustaining a separated shoulder.

Florida Hockey Now: Gotta love the Brad Marchand effect on the Panthers. Marchand returned from a seven-game injury absence and scored two goals — including the overtime winner — and assisted on the tying tally, in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Sportsnet: What a night for Evan Bouchard. Playing in his 400th NHL game, Bouchard joined Bobby Orr as the only defensemen in NHL history to record six points and eight shots on goal in the same game. Bouchard notched his first career hat trick and added three assists to help the Edmonton Oilers skate to a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...i-panarin-asking-price-trade-rumors-extension

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers vs. Bruins: Lineups, storylines with Soucy out for roster management

Too often during this disappointing season, the New York Rangers failed to start on time or play with a distinct sense of urgency. That shouldn’t be the case Monday night at Madison Square Garden, when the Rangers host the Boston Bruins.

If ever this season the Rangers should be fired up to face a specific opponent, it should be this game. Just 16 days ago, the Bruins embarrassed the Rangers 10-2 at TD Garden. In a season full of low points, this was their most lopsided and ugly defeat. So, you’d think that the Rangers will come with their best effort Monday.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Though the revenge angle is real, the bottom line is that this game is far more important to the Bruins than the Rangers. Boston (30-20-2) hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, and is one point behind the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres for third place in the competitive Atlantic Division.

The Rangers (21-25-6) are last in the East, and the only team in the conference with a points percentage (.462) below .500. Their goal differential (minus-23) is also worst in the conference, and they’ve only won five games on home ice, tied for fewest in the entire League.

Interestingly, the Rangers and Bruins were equally disappointing over the first three months of the season. Each was a fringe threat in the playoff race; the Bruins had 44 points through the end of December, one more than the Rangers (43).

Since the start of the new year, these Original Six rivals took divergent paths, however. The Bruins are 9-2-0 in January, highlighted by a six-game winning streak which included that romp over the Rangers. They come off a pair of hard-fought 4-3 wins over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday and Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Conversely, the Rangers are 2-7-1 in January and lost eight of their past nine (1-7-1) entering play Monday. They were swept on a three-game California road trip last week, that ended with a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Things are so bad that general manager Chris Dury publicly announced his intention to retool the Rangers roster 10 days ago.

Despite that horrific loss up in Boston, the Rangers have much recent success against the Bruins. They’ve won six of their past eight meetings against the Bruins, including 6-2 at TD Garden on Black Friday in late November.

3 storylines when Rangers host Bruins​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

1. Rangers must have ‘readiness from drop of the puck’​

The past two games — and far too often this season — the Rangers simply don’t match the urgency of the opposition at the start of the first period. From coach Mike Sullivan to captain J.T. Miller on through the rest of the lineup, no one can pinpoint why the Rangers allowed 14 goals in the opening five minutes of a game this season, including seven times in the month of January.

After the Rangers allowed a pair in the opening 3:08 against the Sharks (after giving up one 18 seconds into the game against the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the week), Miller stressed that they were ready to play, but lacked the urgency that their opponent showed.

Sullivan was more pointed in his assessment.

“I think we have to have a readiness from the drop of the puck,” he said Friday. “Lately, we haven’t had the best starts, so I’ve got to do a better job preparing them for it.”

The Rangers are 5-20-4 when allowing the first goal and 4-12-3 when trailing after the first period. Though it should be pointed out that they scored first, shortly after puck drop, in what ended up to be that 10-2 loss in Boston. So, the Rangers are fragile no matter what, it’s safe to say.

2. Pasta is cooking​

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

David Pastrnak is once again among the NHL scoring leaders, currently tied for sixth with 64 points (21 goals, 43 assists) in 47 games. The Bruins’ star forward has nine of those points (two goals, seven assists) during his current six-game point streak.

Pastrnak loves piling up points against the Rangers. He had a career-high six points (all assists) in that most recent game against the Rangers, after missing the first meeting the day after Thanksgiving with an injury.

In 38 games against the Rangers, Pastrnak has 18 goals and 46 points. The 29-year-old is three points shy of 900 in the NHL and his 897 points are one away from tying former Rangers forward Rick Middleton for sixth-most in Bruins history.

3. Back to work after snow day​

The Rangers didn’t hold a morning skate Monday with everyone still digging themselves out after the serious snowfall all day Sunday. Since they last played Friday, the Rangers traveled home from San Jose ahead of the storm.

The Bruins headed to New York immediately after their home game Saturday against the Canadiens. So there’s zero issue about them traveling on the day of the game.

Prior to the contest Monday, there’ll be another Centennial Celebration, featuring a pregame ceremony honoring the Legendary Blueshirts from 1991-94. Unfortunately, the Rangers Alumni Classic game, scheduled for Sunday at MSG, was postponed due to the storm.

New York Rangers projected lineup​

UPDATE:

I'm hearing #NYR are on the verge of their first move of the retool. A trade that sends Carson Soucy to the #Isles is brewing.

No official announcement yet as they work out the particulars, but expect him to be held out of the lineup tonight for roster management.

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 26, 2026

Gabe Perreault — J.T. Miller — Mika Zibanejad

Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere

Brennan Othmann — Noah Laba — Will Cuylle

Jonny Brodzinski — Sam Carrick — Taylor Raddysh

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Matthew Robertson — Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen — Scott Morrow

Jonathan Quick

Spencer Martin

UPDATE: #NYR has recalled defenseman Connor Mackey from the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Additionally, #NYR has assigned forward Anton Blidh to the Wolf Pack. pic.twitter.com/SyYut8lq5j

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) January 26, 2026

Rangers vs. Bruins: When, where, what time, how to watch​

Who: New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins

When: Monday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...-preview-storylines-payback-embarrassing-loss

 

[New York Rangers]

What’s next for Rangers after trading Carson Soucy to Islanders

Ten days after the New York Rangers officially threw in the towel on this season and publicly announced their intention to enter a retool phase, they traded Carson Soucy to the New York Islanders on Monday. In return the Rangers received a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The trade was rumored much of the day, and the Rangers held Soucy out of their lineup against the Boston Bruins for roster management. The Rangers officially announced the trade after their exciting 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins.

Thank you, Souce! pic.twitter.com/QSWSlKehMo

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 27, 2026

The 31-year-old defenseman, who carries a $3.25 million salary cap hit, can become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Considering the circumstances with the free-falling Rangers (22-25-6), who are last in the Eastern Conference, this was not an unexpected outcome with Soucy.

The Rangers acquired Soucy in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on March 6 last season for a third-round draft pick. They viewed Soucy as a veteran bottom-four defenseman who could help stabilize their blue line in 2024-25 and be a lineup regular this season.

It was also part of the equation that if the Rangers were sellers ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, Soucy would be an asset as a rental for another team. That’s exactly how this played out.

Soucy skated most of this season on the second pair with Will Borgen, averaging 17:13 TOI, fifth among Rangers defensemen and ninth among all skaters. He provided some surprising offense earlier in the season and had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 46 games at the time of the trade.

He was third on the Rangers with 66 blocked shots, and led the team by averaging 5.00 blocks/60. His 71 hits were seventh on the Rangers this season.

Soucy brings 411 games of NHL experience to the Islanders, who are his fifth team, after the Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken, Canucks, and Rangers. They needed a reliable veteran to play the left side of their blue line largely because Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov are injured.

It’s the first trade between the New York rivals since May 2010, when the Rangers acquired defenseman prospect Jyri Niemi from the Islanders in exchange for a sixth-round pick in that year’s NHL Draft. Niemi spent the next three seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL, before he returned to his native Finland to continue his professional career. He never played a game for the Rangers.

What’s next for Rangers after Carson Soucy trade​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Blue line shuffle​

In the short term, this trade opens up a spot on the left side of the Rangers defense corps, providing an opportunity for frequent scratch Urho Vaakanainen to draw into the lineup. Rookie Matthew Robertson moved up into the second-pair role alongside Borgen on Monday, played 22 minutes and scored the winning goal in overtime. Vaakanainen skated on the third pair with rookie Scott Morrow, and was plus-2 with an assist. Connor Mackey was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League to serve as the seventh defenseman.

MATTHEW ROBERTSON DID IT ALL HIMSELF FOR THE OT WINNER pic.twitter.com/IqOlcEEBX2

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 27, 2026

Assuming no other defenseman is acquired by the Rangers between now and then, the next move on the defense corps comes when Adam Fox is activated from LTIR. The earliest that can happen is Jan. 31, though the Rangers may hold Fox out until after the Olympic break.

Whenever Fox comes back, it makes a lot of sense for Braden Schneider to move off the top pair and to his off (left) side on the second pair, instead of resuming his usual third-pair role on the right side. In that scenario, Robertson drops back to the third pair, Vaakanainen again is the seventh defenseman — and, most important, Morrow remains in the lineup, where the Rangers can best bring him along and evaluate his readiness as an NHL regular.

Basically, the decision comes down to Morrow or Vaakanainen when Fox returns.

First shoe to drop​

The Soucy trade is simply the first of several roster moves on the near horizon for the Rangers following general manager Chris Drury’s letter to the fans on Jan. 16. Expect the retooling Rangers to be plenty busy in the coming weeks and months, and perhaps years, depending on how long it takes to rebuild the organization’s depth.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In a way, Soucy was low-hanging fruit for Drury — the easiest player to move, and least surprising, all things considered. We know the Rangers intend to move Artemi Panarin ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. That eventual trade won’t be a surprise when it happens, per se, but it’ll be a much bigger deal, of course — literally and figuratively.

What we don’t know yet is who else is coming and going. Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere, Braden Schneider, and Brennan Othmann are among the names most often included in trade rumors — other than Panarin. But it feels like anyone outside of Igor Shesterkin, J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Vladislav Gavrikov, and Fox are fair game and could be moved for the right package.

Expect the Rangers to target talented younger players — those already in the League and others who are NHL-ready. The Rangers want to get better quickly, though building up their draft capital is also important to help replenish a largely barren prospects pipeline.

Keep in mind, there’s a League-wide roster freeze from Feb. 4-22 during the Olympic break, and then the trade deadline is March 6. The Rangers must move Panarin sometime in that time frame. But, perhaps, other sizeable trades happen during the offseason instead of now.

Let’s see how it all shakes out.

See ya’ Wednesday!​

Assuming the Islanders insert Soucy immediately into their lineup, the Rangers will face their former teammate on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday. The Rangers and Islanders play a home-and-home set those two nights, first at UBS Arena then at Madison Square Garden.

This is only the fourth trade ever made between these local rivals since the Islanders entered the NHL in 1972, and we’ll get an up-close look at the early returns in a matter of days.

A side note to this trade, it allows Soucy to stay in the New York area, which is especially important for him and his family after his wife gave birth last week to their third child. Remember a year ago, Soucy talked about the difficulties of moving the family from Vancouver to New York. And that was without a newborn. You know he and his wife must be relieved.

That’s a good outcome for a good guy.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/carson-soucy-trade-analysis-islanders

 

[New York Rangers]

Why Rangers have ‘appetite to explore’ Alexis Lafreniere trade: NHL insider

Is there a more polarizing player on the New York Rangers roster than Alexis Lafreniere? Especially now that the Rangers embrace a roster retool, with each player under more internal scrutiny than ever.

There are those who see in Lafreniere a No. 1 overall pick who doesn’t produce nearly enough offense and simply is not a star player, and very likely never will be, and should be traded sooner rather than later.

There are others who see a play-driving force supported by solid underlying statistics, who should remain a top-six mainstay on Broadway for years to come.

Such is the conundrum for Rangers management, who’ve analyzed Lafreniere more than any of us and likely remain up in the air on what the plan is with him moving forward.

So what will the Rangers do with their 24-tear-old forward ahead of the March 6 NHL Trade Deadline, or even into the upcoming offseason? Is he an absolute keeper, someone fully embedded in the core? Or will the Rangers cut bait and move on from the top pick in the 2020 NHL Draft?

“I think there’s an appetite to explore it [a trade],” The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta told Forever Blueshirts on the Rink Rap podcast. “This isn’t [Artemi] Panarin, making him available, shopping him, but there is a willingness to have those conversations.”

Alexis Lafreniére RIPS a go-ahead goal pic.twitter.com/y2gyD6j2lN

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 8, 2025

Pagnotta also said, “His name has been out there and there have been exploratory conversations with other teams going back to last summer. There was a little bit of a connection there with Vancouver, when that whole Quinn Hughes discussion was happening League-wide (before the star defenseman was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12).”

Pagnotta’s take makes sense. It doesn’t appear that the Rangers are actively shopping Lafreniere, who has modest stats (222 points; 102 goals, 120 assists) in 433 career NHL games. But it sure makes sense to listen if teams are making offers for him.

It was just last week that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman contended the Rangers may prefer to “fix” Lafreniere than trade him.

“The Rangers can say … we’d rather try and fix him and try to make it work here than sell him for 50 cents on the dollar.,” Friedman stated on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Rangers must ponder if ‘change of scenery make sense’ for Alexis Lafreniere​

James Guillory-Imagn Images

Lafreniere’s in the first season of a seven-year, $52.15 million contract. That $7.45 million annual salary-cap hit appears hefty for a player sitting on 10 goals and 29 points in 53 games and had a significant drop off in production the past two seasons.

The flip side — remember, we said he’s a polarizing player — is that if Lafreniere reaches his full potential and is consistently the player who scored 28 goals and totaled 57 points in 2023-24, then that cap hit becomes a bargain, especially with the NHL salary cap increasing significantly in coming years.

“With Lafreniere, he’s got his contract, he’s not produced at the level they anticipated he would this season,” Pagnotta explained. “They thought the incline would be happening well in advance of now. Does a change of scenery make sense and what are you getting back?”

Even the argument that Lafreniere is only 24 years old and still approaching his prime is polarizing because he’s already in his sixth NHL season and most often skates on a line with Panarin, one of the best and most productive players in the NHL. Yet, the results, his numbers, are disappointing.

You can see the talent. And the career-best xGF of 54.44 percent is tops among Rangers forwards this season, per Natural Stat Trick. If you’re the Rangers it must be maddening that he doesn’t actually score more.

Will he thrive and produce with a different core around him? Or is this just who he is?

Chris Drury and Co. must feel like damned if you do, damned if you don’t when it comes to potentially trading Lafreniere.

“This isn’t a scenario where you’re moving Lafreniere and bringing back a package,” Pagnotta explained. “This has to be a scenario, a player of his caliber — or at least optically his caliber — that has to be matched with what’s coming back. So, if optically you’re moving out a star player, you’ve got to bring in a star player. And that’s what presents some challenges because obviously his value isn’t the highest, even though a lot of people around the League still believe he’s got a lot of potential left in him and it’s still very, very early in his career.

“So, there’s a runway here for this player. But at the same time, the value is not at its peak or anywhere near that, so it’s a tough path to navigate right now in terms of a deal that makes you better.”

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...re-alexis-lafreniere-trade-rumors-nhl-insider

 

[New York Rangers]

New York Rangers trade grades: Carson Soucy shipped to Islanders

The New York Rangers traded Carson Soucy to the their biggest rival, the New York Islanders, on Monday in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Soucy was held out of the lineup for roster management when the Rangers rallied past the Boston Bruins for a 4-3 overtime victory, and the trade was officially announced after the final buzzer at Madison Square Garden.

Soucy is the first player moved after Rangers general manager Chris Drury released a letter on Jan. 16 announcing the team’s decision to embrace a retool.

It’s only the fourth trade ever made between the Rangers and Islanders, and first since May 2010.

The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks last March in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick. New York acquired the pick earlier that same day in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights; it became the first pick of the third round (No. 65 overall) in last year’s draft.

Soucy recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists) with a plus-six rating in 62 games with the Rangers, spanning the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. He’ll have a chance to make an immediate impact against his former squad when the Rangers and Islanders play a home-and-home set Wednesday and Thursday.

Grading Carson Soucy trade between Rangers and Islanders​

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

New York Rangers: B-​

The Rangers didn’t get a haul — nor should they have expected one for a 31-year-old physical defensive defenseman who becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA) this summer. All things considered, recouping a third-round pick is the best-case return for Soucy.

The Islanders (28-19-5) sit third in the Metropolitan Division and 13th overall in the NHL. As things currently stand, that third-round draft pick would be No. 84 overall.

That’s a drop of nearly 20 spots from the third-rounder the Blueshirts flipped to the Canucks to get Soucy in the first place. Of course, it’s worth remembering Soucy came at a higher price last season, when he still had a year and a half of term left on his contract. In the grand scheme of things, the Rangers got a one-year rental of Soucy for a third-round pick swap.

Soucy enjoyed a lively start to the 2025-26 season, but his play at both ends of the ice tapered over the last month. With New York’s mission reframed from playoff contention to a roster reset, it was a no-brainer to recoup any possible value for a veteran defenseman on an expiring contract.

The return won’t warrant much excitement, and rightfully so. It’s a short list of third-round picks in the last decade who’ve enjoyed notable NHL success. And even then, the likes of Adam Fox (No. 66 overall 2016), Morgan Geekie (No. 67 overall 2017), and Fabian Zetterlund (No. 63 overall 2017) were each selected early in the third round, much too early for the pick the Rangers received from the Islanders.

That’s not to say hitting on the pick is impossible. The Washington Capitals drafted power forward Aliaksei Protas No. 91 overall in 2019. The Vegas Golden Knights selected talented scoring winger Pavel Dorofeyev No. 71 overall that same year. In 2018, the Anaheim Ducks nabbed starting goalie Lukas Dostal with the No. 85 overall pick. It’s possible to find a gem — albeit not very probable.

At worst, it’s another asset the Rangers can use, either in the draft or in a trade. It’s far from a home run, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances.

New York Islanders: B​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

File this one as a low-risk upgrade for the Islanders.

Barring a complete second-half collapse, they shouldn’t mourn the loss of a third-round pick. As previously mentioned, the odds of that player becoming an NHL-caliber talent aren’t particularly high.

Soucy may not have a high ceiling — particularly offensively — but he’s a clear upgrade over Adam Boqvist, and he’s more seasoned than the 21-year-old Isaiah George. With Ryan Pulock nursing an upper-body injury, the Islanders need another option to plug into their defensive corps, especially with left-shot defenseman Alexander Romanov possibly out until May after shoulder surgery in late November.

To fit Soucy onto the roster, #Isles have to create a roster spot.

Expecting RHD Ryan Pulock (upper body) to be placed on IR, retroactively to Jan. 21 vs. SEA.

Would have to miss 7 days, making him eligible to return on Thursday, the 2nd of B2B vs. #NYR, if ready.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) January 27, 2026

It hasn’t always been pretty this season. Soucy sports a 46.37 expected-goals-for percentage at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. Then again, that would rank fourth among qualified Islanders defensemen, trailing only Matthew Schaefer, Adam Pelech, and Pulock.

Other models spin a more favorable tale. Soucy, who averaged more than 17 minutes TOI mainly skating on the second defense pair with Will Borgen, ranks in the 83rd percentile defensively on Evolving Hockey. Hockey Stat Cards slots him third in defensive rating among Rangers blue liners. It’s not outlandish to think he’ll be a serviceable bottom-pair defenseman on Long Island.

Carson Soucy, acquired by NYI, is a veteran defensive defenceman. Provides physicality and net-front battling as well as some solid rush defence, but generally a real drag on offence who doesn't handle the puck much and tends to turn it over when he does. #Isles pic.twitter.com/jCpFKXK3UI

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 27, 2026

The Islanders have the makings of a playoff contender, and it never hurts to have a player like Soucy who’s capable of matching that postseason physicality.

In an ideal world for the Islanders, Soucy becomes a fixture on the backend ahead of a potential playoff run. If it doesn’t click, it’s not like general manager Mathieu Darche paid a hefty price. It’s not a flashy move by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not much of a gamble on the Islanders’ part.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/trade-grades-carson-soucy-shipped-islanders

 

[New York Rangers]

Hartford Wolf Pack Weekly: Juuso Parssinen injured again in AHL return

Winners in six of their past 10 games (6-4-0-0), the Hartford Wolf Pack are chugging along. biut remain on the outside of the American Hockey League playoff picture.

Last week featured a pair of wins fir the Wolf Pack, followed by a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Marlies on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack defeated the Hershey Bears 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday, and followed up with a 3-2 win against the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday. Their loss to Toronto was Hartford’s 19th regulation defeat of the season.

The seventh-place Wolf Pack (16-19-4-1, 37 points) are one point out of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The New York Rangers AHL affiliate plays three games this week to continue their push, and inch closer returning to .500, and a possible playoff spot.

Defenseman Connor Mackey was called up by the Rangers on Monday, when they traded defenseman Carson Soucy to the Islanders for a 2026 third-round pick. Anton Blidh returned to Hartford after the forward’s brief NHL stint with New York.

Hartford Wolf Pack news-n-notes​

Photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack

Juuso Pärssinen is back, sort of​

There was good news and bad news for Juuso Parssinen, when he returned from an extended injury absence Friday. The 24-year-old forward scored a goal to help Hartford edge Bridgeport. But he didn’t make it out of the second period because of an upper-body issue. He’s considered day to day, and didn’t play Saturday.

Parssinen missed 19 games after he was he was hurt in his Hartford debut Nov. 28. That was two days after the Rangers placed Parssinen on waivers, following a dismal start to the 2025-26 season, when he had two goals and one assist over 14 games with New York.

Juuso's first as a member of the Pack pic.twitter.com/bJtcDJWQru

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) January 24, 2026

Parssinen skated with Trey Fix-Wolansky and Brendan Brisson on the second line Friday, giving Hartford a veteran trio each with NHL experience. In his most recent spin in the AHL, Parssinen had 25 points (seven goals, 18 assists) in 36 games with Milwaukee during the 2023-24 season.

Bryce McConnell-Barker sets career high with eighth goal​

Bryce McConnell-Barker — photo courtesy Hartford Wolf Pack

Second-year pro Bryce McConnell-Barker is developing nicely with Hartford. A third-round pick (No. 97 overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Rangers, McConnell-Barker is tied for fourth on the Wolf Pack with eight goals in 37 games this season, already one more than his total last season as a rookie pro. His three power play goals are tied for third most on the team with Fix-Wolansky, just two behind Brisson, the team leader with five.

McConnell-Barker is also tied for the Hartford lead with three game-winning goals. The 21-year-old forward pulled even with veteran Justin Dowling in that department, when he netted the game-winner in overtime, part of a two-goal-effort, against Hershey on Jan. 20.

BMB on the power play to win it in Chocolatetown pic.twitter.com/9pN6OVEAje

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) January 21, 2026

Sitting on 14 points, McConnell-Barker is two shy of passing his total of 15 last season. He’s averaging 1.72 shots per game, after averaging 0.82 per game a year ago, part of the reason for his uptick in production.

Given the Rangers retooling, McConnell-Barker could be another option in New York for the bottom-six forward group at some point down the road.

Trey Fix-Wolansky paces Wolf Pack offense​

Fix-Wolansky is pulling away from the pack — no pun intended — as Hartford’s top offensive threat. The diminutive (5-foot-6) forward leads the Wolf Pack with 15 goals and 27 points in 40 games. The 26-year-old is on a bit of a heater with a four-game point streak (four goals, three assists), including a hat-trick against Hershey on Jan. 20, and two primary assists against Bridgeport on Jan. 23.

Fixer with a BEAUTY to light the lamp for the third time tonight pic.twitter.com/WKFXX2uiRB

— Hartford Wolf Pack (@HWPHockey) January 21, 2026

Signed by the Rangers to a one-year, two-way contract last July, Fix-Wolansky registered a point in 22 of 40 games with Hartford, and recorded multiple points four times. His previous three seasons with Cleveland in the AHL, Fix-Wolansky scored 29 goals once and 26 goals twice.

He has four goals and six points in 26 career NHL games, most recently with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2023-24 season. So, depending on how many players depart and are brought in during the Rangers retool, Fix-Wolansky might get back to the NHL at some point this season.

Upcoming Games​

All games can be viewed on AHLTVand heard on Mixlr.

Wednesday, January 28 vs Charlotte Checkers (Panthers) at 6:30pm, PeoplesBank Arena​

• This is the second of eight meetings in the season series. Hartford won the first contest 4-1 on Oct. 29.
• Charlotte is 24-12-3-0 (51 points), third in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference.
• Jack Devine leads the Checkers with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists). Wilmer Skoog and Ben Steeves are tied second for scoring with 27 points apiece (15 goals, 12 assists each).

Friday, January 30 vs Bridgeport Islanders (New York) at 7:00pm, PeoplesBank Arena​

• This is the eighth of 12 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 3-4-0-0 against Bridgeport.
• Bridgeport is 17-18-2-2 (38 points), sixth in the Atlantic Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference.
• Adam Beckman leads the Islanders with 25 points (16 goals, nine assists). Joey Larson (13 goals, 11 assist) and Alex Jefferies (seven goals, 17 assists) are tied for second in scoring with 24 points apiece.

Saturday, January 31 vs Springfield Thunderbirds (Blues) at 6:05pm, MassMutual Center​

• This is the seventh of 10 meetings in the season series. Hartford is 4-2-0-0 against Springfield.
• Springfield is 14-20-4-2 (34 points), eighth in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.
• Matt Luff leads the Thunderbirds with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists). Next is Matthew Peca with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists).

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...d-wolf-pack-juuso-parssinen-injured-again-ahl

 

[New York Rangers]

Without Artemi Panarin, Rangers no match for Islanders in 5-2 loss: Takeaways

The New York Rangers got a taste of what life without Artemi Panarin is like Wednesday night, and it wasn’t exactly pretty. With Panarin scratched for “roster management purposes,” the Rangers dropped a 5-2 decision in the front end of a back-to-back set against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.

The New York hockey rivals meet again Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Panarin won’t dress for that one either. And it’s unknown if he’ll still be a member of the Rangers organization by time the puck is dropped at MSG.

“‘Bread’s’ a terrific player and a great teammate,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan explained after the loss. “He’s good friends with a lot of guys that are in that dressing room. That has an impact on guys. He’s one of the best Rangers of his generation. He’s not an easy guy to replace.”

The Rangers (22-26-6) were thoroughly outplayed by the Islanders (29-19-5), who could’ve scored a lot more than five goals if not for the strong play of Spencer Martin in the visitors’ net. The Islanders outshot the Rangers 36-15, hit the post three times, and had an expected goal share of 61.15 percent, per Natural Stat Trick.

David Rittich improved to 5-0-0 in five career starts against the Rangers. He allowed a first period goal to Mika Zibanejad and one in the second period by Taylor Raddysh.

Five different skaters scored for the Islanders, including Ondrej Palat, who had a goal and an assist 24 hours after he landed on Long Island in a trade with the New Jersey Devils. Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, and Mathew Barzal, Emil Heineman, and J.G. Pageau, also added goals for the home team.

The Islanders were all over the Rangers in the opening period, but only had a 2-1 lead when they skated off the ice into the first intermission.

Palat scored a power-play goal in his Islanders debut at 14:59 to make it 1-0. Holmstrom found his new teammate alone between the circles, and Palat blasted a shot over Martin’s shoulder for his fifth goal of the season.

Holmstrom then guided a pretty pass from Tony DeAngelo past Martin at 16:10 to double the home team’s lead. On the next shift, Rittich robbed Gabe Perreault, stuffing the rookie’s in-close chance with his left pad. That was only the second shot on goal to that point for the Rangers.

But they eventually answered back on the scoreboard with a power-play goal of their own after Vincent Trocheck was high-sticked in the face by Jonathan Drouin at 17:33. Zibanejad scored his team-leading 22nd goal at 18:09, burying a slick cross-crease pass from J.T. Miller to make it 2-1.

It's a power play goal for Mika Zibanejad! pic.twitter.com/BFbGEflZO9

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 29, 2026

It stayed that way for more than half of the second period, and most of a crazy short-handed stretch for the Rangers that began at 9:41 when they were assessed three minor penalties at once. Sam Carrick took the original penalty, a trip, and then added a cross-checking minor after the Islanders controlled the puck and skated 6-on-5 with Rittich on the bench for an extra attacker. At the very end of the sequence, Matt Rempe was assessed a boarding penalty.

The Rangers killed off the full two-minute 5-on-3 and were 29 seconds away from escaping the following 5-on-4, but Barzal finished off a gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing sequence for his 13th goal at 13:12 to put the Islanders up 3-1.

Forty-seven seconds later, Pageau collected a loose puck and beat Martin from the slot after the Rangers goalie turned away Marc Gatcomb on a clear look, and it was 4-1.

Again, despite being considerably outplayed, the Rangers answered back. Raddysh came out from beneath the goal line and snuck a shot past Rittich at 15:42 for his eighth goal, to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Taylor Raddysh gets one back for the Rangers pic.twitter.com/E9osVEsN3h

— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) January 29, 2026

But with under a minute to play in the second period, Will Cuylle failed to push the puck over the blue line and out of the defensive zone. The Islanders capitalized, getting the puck down low, before Heineman zipped a shot over Martin’s shoulder to make it 5-1 with 47.7 seconds remaining.

The Rangers had no pushback in the third period, when they managed just two shots on goal. The loss was their fourth in five games, and ninth in 11 (2-8-1).

Key takeaways after Rangers lose 5-2 to Islanders​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Rangers face ‘different type of challenge without Artemi Panarin​

Let’s be honest, even with Panarin in the lineup, it’s been a massively disappointing season for the Rangers. But even during their worst scoring droughts, there was always the hope that some Panarin magic could jolt the Rangers offense, not only because he leads them in scoring (57 points in 52 games), but that he did so each of the past six seasons, as well. Without him in the lineup Wednesday, it just wasn’t pretty, and it sure felt hopeless, even when down by just one goal for more than half of that second period.

“It’s weird when you play with someone for so long and they’re not in the lineup for whatever reason it might be. It’s different, but we have to keep playing,” Zibanejad reasoned postgame.

It’s time to get used to playing without the Breadman, though. The Rangers will trade the pending unrestricted free agent sooner rather than later. For this current crop of Blueshirts, hopefully there’s a decent NHL player or two that comes back in the return package. We’ll know when we know.

But it doesn’t mean this is an easy process.

“It’s just a different type of challenge,” Sullivan explained. “But when you go through these types of challenges, I think it forces all of us to look in the mirror and try to figure out how we can all do a better job. I’m certainly doing that myself. I’m going to try to do the best job I can for this team as their coach, and it starts with bringing the right attitude every day and making sure that we bring a certain level of enthusiasm to what we do.”

Clear ‘turning point in the game’​

Perhaps the turning point in the game was Panarin being a late scratch and the reality setting in that he’s likely played his final game with the Rangers. But as far as the game itself is concerned, what happened at 9:41 of the second period was the “turning point in the game,” per Sullivan.

” … you get three penalties in one shift. I’ve never seen that before.”

Carrick took two penalties and then Rempe was whistled for the third penalty, each in the Rangers end of the ice. Probably each one was justified, though the Rangers had reason to complain that the Islanders weren’t assessed a single penalty after multiple players jumped on Rempe, after the towering forward’s boarding minor.

Something you don't see every day:

The Rangers committed THREE (3) minor penalties on the same play https://t.co/Wcl4mZq61m pic.twitter.com/VjA6w4p4Bv

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 29, 2026

Had the Rangers killed off the 5-on-3 and following 5-on-4 — which they very nearly did — this could’ve been the turning point in a positive way for the Rangers. As Trocheck pointed out postgame, it was a chance for the Rangers to absolutely swing momentum in their favor if they escaped still trailing by one goal.

Instead, Barzal scored a power-play goal. And then the Islanders quickly followed with an even strength tally. And it was 4-1. That was that.

Captain’s anguish​

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

It’s been a brutally tough and disappointing season for Miller, his first as Rangers captain. Though he had that pretty assist on Zibanejad’s goal, there were three plays that summed up Miller’s season — and his anguish — so far.

Right off the hop, Miller zipped a shot off the post. A goal there and who knows? Maybe this game plays out differently with the Rangers up 1-0 early.

Then roughly 14 minutes into the first period, with the game scoreless, Martin flubbed a pass from Cuylle on a 2-on-1 short-handed rush. How many times have we seen Miller mishandle the puck this season, or miss a prime scoring opportunity in this fashion? Too numerous to count.

To make matters worse, the Islanders scored 50 seconds or so later on the same power play to take a 1-0 lead. Of course they did.

Finally, the absolute pained look on the captain’s face when he skated off the ice after this 5-2 defeat. None of this is what he expected. It’s been a true nightmare season for him.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/recap-lose-islanders-without-artemi-panarin

 

[New York Rangers]

Rangers vs. Islanders: Lineups, storylines trying to avoid season sweep

For the second time in as many nights, albeit in a different building, the New York Rangers face off against the New York Islanders on Thursday. This back end of a home-and-home set takes place at Madison Square Garden after the Rangers lost 5-2 on the road at UBS Arena on Wednesday.

Losing to the Islanders is nothing new for the Rangers this season. In fact, they’re trying to avoid a season-series sweep Thursday. They lost the first three games by a combined 12-2 score, and were shut out twice.

That’s a reversal of last season, when the Rangers swept the season series against the Islanders, which may have cost them a shot at winning the NHL Draft Lottery. Instead, the Islanders finished with a worse record and then selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 overall pick after winning the lottery.

Schaefer has one point — an assist — in three games against the Rangers this season. But the 18-year-old defenseman averages more than 24 minutes TOI, is second on the Islanders with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 53 games, and ranks third among all NHL rookies in scoring.

The wonderkid helped spark the Islanders (29-19-5) this season to be one of the League’s biggest surprises. They are third in the Metropolitan Division in points percentage, though tied in points with the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Rangers (22-26-6) are also a surprise team this season, though for all the wrong reasons. They sit last in the Eastern Conference, their six home wins are second-fewest in the NHL, and they rank 27th in the NHL averaging 2.65 goals-for per game. The loss Wednesday was their ninth in the past 11 games (2-8-1).

Once again, the Rangers are without Artemi Panarin, who’s likely played his final game on Broadway. Their leading scorer was a healthy scratch Wednesday for “roster management purposes” and won’t play in any game before the Feb. 4 roster freeze for the Olympic break takes effect. It’s unknown if the Rangers are close to trading Panarin, or whether they’re just being cautious with a valuable asset.

3 storylines when Rangers host Islanders​

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

1. Sully’s outlook​

A retool roughly eight months after being named coach of the Rangers can’t be what Mike Sullivan envisioned last spring, when he arrived on Broadway. But he’s a veteran of coaching in the NHL and maintains a steady hand and messaging guiding the Rangers during this tumultuous and upsetting time, especially now with Panarin’s days numbered with the organization.

“We’re going to handle it like we always try and handle it. We’re going to try and win the game in front of us. We’re going to try and learn and get better every day, regardless of who’s in our lineup. It’s opportunities for us to get better, and we’re going to try and do that,” Sullivan said Thursday morning.

And how does this affect him as a coach?

“I’m going to try to do the best job I can for this team as their coach, and it starts with bringing the right attitude every day and making sure that we bring a certain level of enthusiasm to what we do,” Sullivan said Wednesday. “We’re going to learn through the experiences. We’re going to try to win the one game right in front of us.”

2. Brett’s back​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

The Rangers recalled Brett Berard from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Thursday morning. The 23-year-old is expected to be in the lineup against the Islanders, likely at the expense of veteran Jonny Brodzinski in the bottom-six forward group.

“He’s a real good energy guy,” Sullivan said about Berard, who’s scoreless in 12 games with the Rangers this season. “He’s great in the puck pursuit game. He can really skate. He’s got a little bit of physicality to him. You know, he brings a lot of juice, energy, enthusiasm.”

This retool is a major opportunity for Berard, who did score six goals and total 10 points with the Rangers in 35 games last season, and led Hartford with 25 goals as a rookie pro in 2023-24. He’s yet to show that offensive skill set to Sullivan and the new coaching staff in New York. But Berard did have nine points (four goals, five assists) in his previous nine games with Hartford, so perhaps there will be some carryover at the next level for him.

Last season, Berard recorded the first two-goal game in the NHL against the Islanders on April 10 at UBS Arena.

3. Goalie challenge​

Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Spencer Martin allowed five goals in the loss Wednesday, but actually was pretty good between the pipes for the Rangers, considering he didn’t get much help defensively from his teammates. Let’s see if they are more engaged Thursday, when Jonathan Quick makes the start.

His last time out, Quick backstopped his first win since Nov. 7, ending a dismal 0-10-2 personal run, in the exciting 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins at MSG on Monday.

Ilya Sorokin, a leading contender for the Vezina Trophy as top NHL goalie this season, starts for the Islanders after David Rittich picked up the win Wednesday. Sorokin leads the League with six shutouts, including three in his past seven starts — and one against the Rangers back on Nov. 8 at The Garden. The 30-year-old is just 4-6-2, though, in his career against the Rangers with a 3.17 goals-against average.

New York Rangers projected lineup​

Gabe Perreault — J.T. Miller — Mika Zibanejad

Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere

Brennan Othmann — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh

Brett Berard — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe

Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider

Matthew Robertson — Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen — Scott Morrow

Jonathan Quick

Spencer Martin

Rangers vs. Islanders: When, where, what time, how to watch​

Who: New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders

When: Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden

How to watch: MSG

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/n...-islanders-preview-storylines-try-avoid-sweep

 

[New York Rangers]

No. 1 pick keeps promise, Islanders sweep Rangers with 2-1 win: Takeaways

Matthew Schaefer talked the talk, and then walked the walk. And as such, the New York Islanders finished a season series sweep of the New York Rangers with a 2-1 victory Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Shortly after the Islanders selected Schaefer with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft last June, the precocious defenseman stated, “We’re going to beat the Rangers every time we play them.”

Well, at least for his first season in the NHL, Schaefer is right. And he backed up those words by scoring the game-winner Thursday. The Rangers lost all four games against the Islanders this season by an aggregate 14-3 score, including 5-2 at UBS Arena on Wednesday night in the first of a home-and-home set this week.

The goal was Schaefer’s first against the Rangers, and his second point in four games vs. the Blueshirts. Carson Soucy, who was traded to the Islanders by the Rangers on Monday, also scored for the visitors, and goalie Ilya Sorokin finished with 20 saves.

Schaefer RIPS IT home for his FOURTEENTH of the season pic.twitter.com/6IhR37njh1

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 30, 2026

Mika Zibanejad scored his team-leading 23rd goal for the Rangers (22-27-6), who’ve lost 10 of their past 12 games (2-9-1). Jonathan Quick stopped 19 of 21 shots, including all 10 in the third period.

Outside of a handful of one-and-done opportunities, this one was largely a low-energy, low-event snoozefest. That is until out of nowhere the Islanders struck for a pair of goals late in the second period to take a 2-0 lead.

Soucy somehow snuck a slapper from the bottom of the left circle past Quick at 17:18, scoring on just the third shot of the period and ninth of the game for the Islanders. Simply, it was a bad goal allowed by Quick. And it came off the stick of a player who was a Rangers teammate just 72 hours prior, because of course it did. That’s just how this season’s gone for the Rangers.

Soucin’ Soucin’ I’m Soucin’ on youuuu pic.twitter.com/wbDsiyJo25

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 30, 2026

You can further add salt to the wound by pointing out that shortly before Quick gave up that softie, Sorokin made a terrific blocker save to deny J.T. Miller after a slick give and go with Zibanejad.

Because, of course.

Just 1:35 after Soucy opened the scoring, Schaefer fired a tracer through a Simon Holmstrom screen to make it 2-0 Islanders at 18:53. With his 14th goal, Schaefer moved past the legendary Bobby Orr for the second most goals scored by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history. Hall-of-Famer Phil Housley holds the record with 17.

It was a deflating way to end the period after the Rangers held the Islanders to only five shots. But they regrouped in the intermission, and quickly took advantage of a power-play opportunity early in the third period to get right back in the game.

With Ryan Pulock in the penalty box for boarding Gabe Perreault, Zibanejad unloaded an absolute missile from the left circle that whistled past Sorokin to make it 2-1 at 2:48 of the third. It was that patented old-school power-play shot by Zibanejad, who buried a pass right into his wheelhouse by Vladisalv Gavrikov.

A round of applause for this clapper from Mika Zibanejad pic.twitter.com/9ypLQo61d6

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 30, 2026

However, the Rangers couldn’t carry that positive mojo into their next power-play opportunity, when the Islanders were assessed a bench minor penalty for abuse of officials at 6:59. The Islanders regrouped and easily killed off the penalty and maintained their one-goal lead.

There were a couple decent looks for each side the rest of the way, but no sustained pressure, and the Rangers went quietly down to defeat yet again.

Key takeaways after Rangers lose 2-1 to Islanders​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

1. Mika Mojo​

It wasn’t just that power-play one-time bomb from the left circle, though that sure brought back some memories. But let’s face it, Zibanejad has that old swag back. He ditched the mopey disposition from last season and continues to be the Rangers best player game-in and game-out this season.

Even without Artemi Panarin in the lineup again — scratched for “roster management purposes” ahead of a trade before the March 6 deadline — Zibanejad continued to produce and generate most of the Rangers offense Thursday. He scored a goal for the second straight night, led the Rangers with five shots on goal and 10 attempts, and now has points in 13 of 14 games since Dec. 31.

His 51 points are second to Panarin’s 57 for most on the Rangers, and just 11 shy of his total from all of last season. And that goal he scored Thursday? It was his 273rd with the Rangers, moving him past Andy Bathgate into sole possession of fifth place in franchise history — behind Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Chris Kreider, and Adam Graves.

2. Get used to it​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

The Islanders aren’t going to win every game they play against the Rangers just because Schaefer said so on his draft day. However, the Rangers better get used to trying to stop this kid because he’s a handful now, and just may become a generational talent moving forward. In other words, he’s the new face of this rivalry on the Islanders side. It’s still too early to draw Denis Potvin comparisons, but, well, it’s starting to feel that he’s already worthy.

Schaefer’s averaging more than 24 minutes TOI, and coach Patrick Roy doesn’t shelter him one bit. The kid’s 36 points are third most among all NHL rookies, and second on the Islanders. And he’s sure not shy about stoking the flames of this fairly dormant rivalry.

“It’s so fun. You want to beat them every time,” Schafer said postgame. “It’s a playoff game from here on out. Especially against the Rangers, you want to get those two points. It’s fun when you’re beating them.”

3. Checking in on the Rangers kids​

Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

More than wins and losses the rest of this season, it’s the development of the young players in the lineup, and assessing where each stands in the retool, that’s most important to the Rangers. To that end, it was mostly a quiet night for the kids in this overall sleepy affair against the Islanders.

Brennan Othmann didn’t generate much if any offense on the third line, but he did record five hits, second most on the Rangers behind Will Cuylle (six), who likewise failed to post a shot on goal. Speaking of posts, rookie defenseman Scott Morrow rang a shot off the iron roughly five minutes into the game and remains without a goal with the Rangers.

Brett Berard received 10 shifts and logged 8:45 TOI without a shot on goal playing on the fourth line after his recall from Hartford of the American Hockey League. He’s pointless in 13 games with the Rangers this season. Noah Laba also didn’t record a shot on goal, but he did win five of seven face-offs (71 percent).

Perreault did stand out with five shots on goal, again fitting in well with his veteran linemates Zibanejad and Miller.

Source: https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/new-york-rangers-news/schaefer-leads-islanders-past-rangers