Rangers Make Good First Impression

In the end, a win is a win, right? The Rangers opened up the 2023-24 season with a solid 5-1 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo Thursday night.

Winning the first game of the season isn't exactly newsworthy for the Blueshirts. Last year, they opened the season with an equally impressive 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden, and we all know how that turned out.

But there was something different about this win. That wasn't your typical Rangers performance out there. You know the kind: jump out to an early lead and then hold off the coming onslaught from the opposition. With the exception of a few minutes in the third period when the Rangers were killing off a couple of penalties they unwisely took, New York was in total control of the game. Against a Buffalo team that finished third in the NHL in scoring last season, they gave up a total of 25 shots, only two of which were high danger chances.

For the first time, Ranges fans got to see the deployment of the 1-3-1 defense, which for all intents and purposes is a neutral zone trap; the same neutral zone trap teams like the Devils utilized so effectively in the 1990s. It proved to be the difference Thursday night. The Sabres top line of Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch was held off the scoring sheet, managed just six shots on goal and was a minus two for the evening. When was the last time the Rangers allowed only one gaol and Igor Shesterkin wasn't one of the stars of the game?

But it wasn't just the stifling defense that stuck out. The Rangers were relentless in their forecheck pretty much the entire game. It led directly to two goals, and Alexis Lafreniere figured prominently in both. After an Artemi Panarin shot was kicked out by Devon Levi, Panarin grabbed his own rebound and slid it across the goal mouth to a breaking Lafteniere who stuffed it in the net for a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Then in the second period, Lafreniere forced a turnover in the Buffalo zone that Panarin pounced on and blasted a shot passed Levi for a 3-0 lead. The only blemish on the night came off a rebound shot by JJ Peterka after Jacob Trouba blocked the initial shot. In all, the Rangers blocked 23 shot attempts.

Chris Kreider - two goals and an assist - might've been the number one star of the game, but it was Lafreniere who got the game hat from this teammates. The first overall pick of the 2020 draft is being counted on heavily this season, and after a less than stellar preseason that left many wondering whether the winger was up to the challenge, his performance Thursday night did not go unnoticed, especially his coach. He even went 4-1 on face-offs. If Lafreniere, along with fellow "kids" Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, take the next step, this team will be a force to be reckoned with.

But for now the Rangers will take the two points. Next up on the schedule is the Columbus Blue Jackets, another team that missed the playoffs last season. Then they fly home to play the Arizona Coyotes at the Garden. Time will tell if they've fully grasped Peter Laviolette's system, or whether the Sabres were just a lucky one off.