Alexis Lafreniere hot streak fueling Rangers’ post-Olympic surge
The New York Rangers must be wondering: Where has this version of Alexis Lafreniere been all these years?
Lafreniere has rarely looked like a player worthy of being taken with the No. 1 overall pick in an NHL Draft since the Rangers made him the first player taken in 2020. His career highs are 28 goals and 57 points, both set in 2023-24. Those numbers, a strong playoff showing in the spring of 2024, and a good start to the 2024-25 season, earned him a seven-year, $52.15 million contract extension ($7.45 million average annual value) in October 2024.
But like many of his teammates, Lafreniere’s game tailed off after his good start last season and never recovered; he made little impact as the Blueshirts fell out of the playoff race. The same was true until this season’s Olympic break — Lafreniere was MIA on too many nights, and the Rangers dropped to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The Blueshirts are all but certain to miss the playoffs for the second straight season, but Lafreniere is on the biggest heater of his six-year career. He and linemates Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault are a big reason for the Rangers’ three-game winning streak and 5-1-2 post-Olympic surge.
After the Rangers traded Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 4, Lafreniere moved to left wing with Zibanejad in the middle and Perreault on the right, and that trio is carrying the load during the Rangers’ best stretch of the season. “Laf” scored his seventh goal in eight games after the break and added an assist in the Rangers’ 6-3 road win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
It’s the kind of consistent production and dominant play the Rangers long hoped to get from the 24-year-old who’s in his sixth NHL season.
“We love our game play right now, like [Lafreniere] steps up, so it’s pretty good for us,” said goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who’s benefitted from the scoring support during his own 4-0-2 run.
Alexis Lafreniere on hottest streak of NHL career with Rangers
Lafreniere has five of his 19 goals during a three-game goal-scoring streak. He also has three straight multiple-point games (five goals, two assists), tied for the longest active streak in the NHL. The resurgent forward has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past five games, the most points he’s totaled during a five-game span in his career.
He had his second NHL hat trick in the Rangers’ 4-0 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, and his six goals and 11 points since March 2 are tied for the League lead in each category.
Dating to his two-goal performance in Pittsburgh on Jan. 31, Lafreniere has nine goals in his past 10 games – by far the best run of his career.
It’s all taken place without his longtime linemate, too. Panarin was already sitting out games for roster management purposes when Lafreniere began filling the net. There’s plenty of chatter that Lafreniere deferred too much to his star linemate, and now is more free to be “the guy” on his line.
Playing with Perreault and Zibanejad and getting top-line minutes made a big difference. His linemates’ pass-first approach lets Lafrenière become more of a scoring threat and play more without the puck. Getting a more consistent role on the top power-play unit since the Panarin trade also makes a difference.
One of the things coach Mike Sullivan liked a lot against the Jets was the parade of goals scored by players going to the net. The first of those was Lafreniere’s deflection of a shot by defenseman Will Borgen 7:36 into the second period that gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
He also assisted on Perreault’s game-winner, a deflection of Braden Schneider’s shot/pass at 6:57 of the third period that put New York ahead to stay at 4-3.
“When you look at the types of goals that were scored — [Lafreniere’s] goal was a deflection on a stack screen, Tye Kartye’s goal (in the second period) was off a face-off, was getting into the blue paint, and that’s where goals are scored in this League,” Sullivan said. “I was encouraged by the guys. I’m happy for them. We’ve (strung) a few games together. It’s nice that they can feel good about what’s going on around here.”
Lafreniere is playing with the kind of confidence he’s rarely shown during his first five-plus seasons on Broadway, and it’s doing wonders for his numbers.
“Just playing with a little bit more confidence,” he said after the hat trick on Tuesday. “Skating a little better, hanging onto pucks a little bit more in the neutral zone offensively. Just trying to put myself in better spots to get the puck.”
Barring some incredible circumstances, the Rangers won’t make the playoffs. But going into 2026-27 with Lafreniere at last playing like a star would be a big boost to their hopes of returning to the postseason next spring.
