The context behind Lafrenière’s ups and downs over the years matters. The usage, especially for a No. 1 pick, was extremely funky early on because the Rangers tried to fast-track a rebuild. So instead of trying to maximize Lafrenière at even strength, or with top power-play minutes to try and help him find his footing, a win-now philosophy quickly limited his opportunities.

The problem was that he didn’t build on what looked like a breakthrough in 2023-24. After a disappointing 2024-25, his start to 2025-26 raised even more concern. At that point, his one strong season was starting to look like an outlier. And even more problematic was how dramatically he changed his style of play and started to stray from what makes him a special player.

One of the earliest changes under new coach Mike Sullivan last season was trying to build up the forecheck and being able to play a dump-and-chase style. In years past, New York was very rush-oriented and often found itself in these one-and-done types of sequences. By diversifying play styles, the idea was to help turn those rushes into sustained pressure or find ways to generate offense when opponents limited chances in transition.

One major difference this season is that he seems to have a better handle on how to bring those Sullivan-esque elements into his game, while maintaining the puck-moving strengths that fueled his 2023-24 breakout.

Practice

Media

Does anyone know anything about this guy. It's a foco gnome of Lundqvist

My son is 3 and beyond obsessed with the Rangers. We listen to the goal song from the app only (no other version is acceptable) on repeat to and from school the entire ride. It’s cute and fun until it’s not (last season as an example). Praying they can keep it up on the road this season lol. What’s everyone thinkin?

Per Mollie Walker’s twitter:

Durzi: "It’s our fans. It’s an exciting time. We heard what was going on tomorrow night [at the Knicks' championship banner raising ceremony], so it’s nice to give back-to-back good nights at MSG. They’ve been great. Being here, the welcome, the support that I've gotten, has been incredible. Makes it a little more special to give them a nice show on home ice.”

This is just one of a ton of awesome quotes he’s given so far this year.

Not only can this guy score and play solid defense, he knows what it means to play for the Rangers and is fully embracing it. Hope he continues to play well he’s been very valuable to this team’s early success!

11 games in. The way this team plays, and this Garand story.
It’s real. Expectations have been raised a bit.
I hope they keep the rest of the season as fun as this first bit has been.

Well… what a difference 10 games makes.

After getting shut out 3–0 in Boston to start the season, the Rangers have gone 7–2–1 over their last 10 games, including last night's 5–2 win against Anaheim.

We're 7–3–1 overall, sitting second in the Metro, and undefeated at home.

Igor Shesterkin is out for the season. Garand has looked elite in his place.

So here's what I'm curious about: Has our strong start changed your outlook? Or does losing Igor completely change the equation?

TAKE THE SURVEY:
https://forms.gle/7xqgMzw8bjESA1Cg6

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EDIT: Early Results (10/21/2026 @ 7:3PM EST)

HUGE shift towards a more positive outlook, not so surprising after the run they've been on! Will update again when I get it all on the website.

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Open Response Themes [AI Generated]:

=> Playoff Outlook and Expectations: The team is widely viewed as a potential playoff contender—capable of fighting for a spot or finishing in the top 3 of the metro—though most respondents believe they lack the overall talent, consistency, or depth to be true Cup contenders or go deep into the postseason.
=> Goaltending Concerns: The loss of Igor Shesterkin is seen as a major blow that lowers the team's ceiling and raises questions about long-term sustainability, though Garand has performed well and the team has rallied around him.
=> Team Performance and Strengths: The team has shown encouraging depth, strong defense (particularly at the blue line), improved system cohesion, and a positive response to adversity, contributing to an exciting start to the season.
=> Uncertainty and Need for Consistency: Many remain cautiously optimistic due to a weak early schedule, concerns over 5v5 metrics, and the need to prove consistency and secure road wins over a full season.

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Performance Snapshot

Current Streak: W1
Metro Standing: 2nd

Goals For: 33
Goals Against: 24

Injuries

• Igor Shesterkin (G): Out for the remainder of the season with a lower-body injury suffered October 9 against Washington.
• Joonas Korpisalo (G): Lower-body injury; on injured reserve.
• Joseph Veleno (C): Lower-body injury; on LTIR.
• Adam Sykora (F): Lower-body injury; on injured reserve.
• Aidan Thompson (C): Undisclosed injury; on injured reserve.

Obviously, losing Igor is the biggest development since our last survey. It'll be interesting to see how much that affects everyone's expectations, particularly given the team's strong record.

Season Sentiment Tracker

Context: I'm running surveys roughly every 10 games throughout the season to see how our expectations change around winning streaks, losing streaks, trades, and injuries.

The survey is anonymous, but you can leave your Reddit username or a unique tracking code. Later in the season, you'll be able to look back at how your own predictions changed.

Previous Survey Results — Season Opener

73 responses · Fan Sentiment Score: 32/100

Following the 3–0 opening-night loss in Boston, expectations dropped pretty dramatically.

At training camp, 86% of respondents expected the Rangers to fight for a playoff spot, and only 2% considered them a bottom-dwelling team.

After just one game: 34% expected a bottom dweller or lottery team. The sentiment index dropped from 42 to 32.

What I'm Watching

I'm particularly interested in whether our outlook improves because of the 7–3–1 start, or gets worse because we've lost Igor.

At the beginning of the season, most people thought we were a bubble team. Now we've got a winning record, but our goaltending situation has completely changed.

Do you see this team as a legitimate playoff contender, a bubble team, or are we eventually going to fall back to earth?

TAKE THE GAME 11 SURVEY

LET'S GO RANGERS!

When I was a kid, late 90s, early 2000s, there was a show on MSG that would air on Saturday mornings. There were Knicks episodes and Rangers episodes and it would have players on either team where they’d be interviewed and then show drills for kids to do. I can’t for the life of me remember what this show was called. Does it ring a bell for anyone?

We love ya Z

I spent time following Monday’s morning skate sitting with Durzi. Most of the conversation revolved around debriefing on Sunday’s football games — c’mon, Jets — and how much he’s relishing the defensive role the Rangers have been asking him to play. The analytics for his pairing with Marcus Pettersson aren’t great on the surface, but they’ve come while consistently drawing top-line matchups, which has only resulted in three goals against across 11 games and over 150 minutes together.

“We’ve maybe given up some (scoring chances),” Durzi said, “but I think we’ve done a lot of good.”

Toward the end of the chat, we got into where things stood with New York’s five-on-five offense. The Rangers failed to score any five-on-five goals in their previous two games and entered Monday averaging only 2.01 goals per 60 minutes in those situations, which ranked 26th in the NHL. Durzi registered just two even-strength assists through the first 10 games.

“Our team has been successful because of how much pride we’ve taken defensively, and so you might give up some offense,” he explained. “In the last couple games, I’ve maybe tried to do a little too much offensively and just (end up) giving up chances. … I take pride in producing, but I realize that my role within the group right now is to eat minutes. If production comes, it comes. I can’t force it.”

It was a persuasive answer prior to a plus-three performance, but as he was walking away, Durzi made sure to look back and add this: “The offense will come, I promise you that.”

True to his word, it came about eight hours later, when Durzi opened the scoring with a long wrister from the blue line 1:18 into the first period. It was New York’s third consecutive home game with a goal in the opening two minutes, which marks the second time that’s happened in franchise history. (The previous set was March 15-22, 1989.)

Hello! I was gifted 2 signed pucks but idk who they are. If I had to guess they are anywhere from 10-40 years old. Any help would be appreciated.

If we could make it work with the cap, I would be down for a reunion.