Rangers Week Ahead: Favorable schedule against 3 struggling opponents
Opportunity is knocking for the New York Rangers this week — if they can find a way to score some goals at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers (3-3-1) host two struggling teams, the Minnesota Wild (2-3-1) on Monday and San Jose Sharks (0-3-2) on Thursday, before beginning a four-game trip out West with a visit to the Calgary Flames (1-5-0) on Sunday. Each opponent begins the week outside the top eight in the Western Conference, with the winless Sharks and flailing Flames holding down the last two spots.
The visits from the Wild and Sharks come after the Rangers offense finally came alive in Montreal on Saturday during a 4-3 victory over the Canadiens, ending a 1-1-1 week that began with their third shutout loss in as many home games, 2-0 to the Edmonton Oilers. The Rangers are the first team in NHL history to fail to score in each of their first three home games.
That should end this week, because neither the Wild nor the Sharks have played well defensively, Minnesota has allowed 22 goals in its past five games, and San Jose is allowing an even five goals per game, tied with the Ottawa Senators for worst in the League.
There is no reason the Rangers shouldn’t win all three games, and anything less that two wins doesn’t augur well for the near future.
Who’s hot
The real Artemi Panarin – the one that led the Rangers in scoring each of the past six seasons — showed up in Montreal. After setting up New York’s first three goals, he scored the game-winner, his first goal of the season. Panarin looks like he’s recovered from the injuries that kept him out of game action during the preseason; if that’s the case, the Rangers should be a team on the rise.
Who’s not
The Rangers need a lot more from Alexis Lafreniere, who’s gone five games without a point, after a one-goal, one-assist performance against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 8. He averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time in the previous three games before being cut to 17:27 against the Canadiens — perhaps a hint from coach Mike Sullivan that his performance isn’t up to snuff.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
Two weak opponents at home before the start of their first big road trip of the season.
Minnesota Wild at Rangers (Oct. 20. 7 p.m. ET; MSG/NHL Network)
Not much has gone right for the Wild since they blew out the St. Louis Blues 5-0 on opening night. They’re 1-3-1 since then, with the only win coming in a shootout after they blew a 3-0 lead in the third period. Ten of their 17 goals this season have come on the power play.
The Wild broke open the piggy bank just before the season to re-sign forward Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history — eight years with an average annual value of $17 million. The good news for Minnesota is that Kaprizov has nine points (four goals, five assists) in six games; the bad news is that he has just two of those points (two assists) at even strength.
Kaprizov didn’t face the Rangers last season due to injury, and has a modest five points (one goal, four assists) in six games al-time against them. He’s also minus-7.
Panarin has 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 23 games against the Wild. Four of those points (one goal, three assists) came last season, when the Rangers swept the two-game season series — extending their point streak against the Wild to six (5-0-1).
San Jose Sharks at Rangers (Oct. 23, 7 p.m.; MSG)
The Sharks, under general manager Mike Grier — a former adviser to Rangers GM Chris Drury — are amassing some nice young talent, including 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini. But rebuilding can be a long and painful process, as Grier and his team are learning again. This already has the look of San Jose’s seventh straight non-playoff season.
If history is any indication, playing the Rangers won’t help things. The Blueshirts are 35-10-3-3 all-time against the Sharks, including 11-0-2 since San Jose’s last regulation win, 4-1 on Oct. 23, 2017. The Rangers are 5-0-1 in their past six home games against the Sharks.
Panarin has big numbers (13 goals, 23 points in 19 games) against San Jose. Captain J.T. Miller has also thrived, with 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 26 games.
Rangers at Calgary Flames (Oct. 26, 8 p.m. MSGSN)
The Rangers’ 2024-25 season began to fall apart in Calgary. They came to town in mid-November sporting a 12-4-1 record and left with a 3-2 loss that was close only because Igor Shesterkin made 46 saves.
It was the beginning of a brutal stretch that saw them go 4-15-0 through the end of 2024 and spend the rest of the season unsuccessfully chasing a playoff berth.
The Flames rallied from three goals down for a 4-3 shootout win against the Edmonton Oilers in their season opener; however, not much has gone right for them since. Calgary began this week on a five-game losing streak, all in regulation, and its minus-14 goal differential was the worst in the NHL.
Calgary won both meetings last season after the Rangers defeated the Flames twice in 2023-24, but New York is 1-5-1 in its past seven visits to Scotiabank Saddledome. Shesterkin’s struggled to win against Calgary despite playing well; he’s 2-4-0 but has a 2.87 GAA and .920 save percentage.
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