New York Rangers week ahead includes first meeting of season with Islanders

NHL: Preseason-New York Islanders at New York Rangers
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The New York Rangers begin the new week with the highest points percentage in the Eastern Conference after winning two of three games last week.

The Rangers passed the New Jersey Devils for the most points in the Metropolitan Division on Saturday when they held off the Anaheim Ducks 2-1 at Madison Square Garden (though the Devils regained the points lead Sunday by beating the Ducks 6-2 in Newark). Ryan Lindgren and Will Cuylle scored in the third period, and Jonathan Quick made 32 saves for his 30th career victory against the Ducks, the most he’s had against any team.

At 6-1-1 after a 2-1-0 week, New York has a points percentage of .813, tops in the conference and second in the NHL behind the Winnipeg Jets, who are 8-0-0 (1.000). They trail the Devils by a point in the race for first place but have four games in hand.

The Rangers’ two wins last week were a contrast in styles. They began the week with a 7-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday. The seven goals were the most scored by the Rangers in Montreal since they got seven (six in the third period, all against Hall of Famer Ken Dryden) on Feb. 22, 1972.

The Florida Panthers handed the Rangers their first regulation loss of the season two nights later, winning 3-1 at the Garden in the teams’ first meeting since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final on June 1, when the eventual Stanley Cup champs won 2-1 to end the Rangers season.

But they put the loss to Florida in the rearview mirror quickly. The victory against Anaheim was their 10th in a row over the Ducks at MSG. Anaheim hasn’t won in New York since a 2-1 victory on Nov. 4, 2013.

Who’s Hot

Quick hasn’t played a lot, but he’s been terrific when he gets the call. The 38-year-old is 2-0-0 and has allowed three goals in the two wins. If he’s not the best backup goalie in the NHL, he’s certainly in the conversation.

Alexis Lafreniere will be a Ranger for a long time after agreeing to a seven-year contract extension on Friday. He continued to show why the Rangers were so eager to keep him for the long term by assisting on Lindgren’s game-opening goal against Anaheim, giving him points in seven of New York’s first eight games. Lafreniere is first on the team in even-strength goals (4), and all eight of his points have come at even strength.

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-New York Rangers at Florida Panthers
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Artemi Panarin had an assist in each of the Rangers’ three games last week, extending his season-opening points streak to eight games. He’s halfway to surpassing the team-record streak of 15 games with a point from the start of the season that he set in 2023-24.

Who’s Not

Chris Kreider had a forgettable week, pointless and finishing minus-2 in three games. Coach Peter Laviolette has shaved Kreider’s average TOI to 17:13, down 1:34 from last season. Kreider’s center, Mika Zibanejad, has also seen his average time on ice reduced by 1:30 from last season.

Related: Alexis Lafreniere ‘fired up’ to stay with New York Rangers on 7-year extension

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-New York Rangers at Washington Capitals
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Two home games to begin November after they close out October with a quick visit to Washington on Tuesday. In all, the Rangers play five of their first six November games on home ice until they begin their first long road trip in Seattle on Nov. 17.

Rangers at Washington Capitals (Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN)

The Capitals are among the early-season surprises in the NHL, winning five of their first seven games. Goalie Logan Thompson, the likely starter in Washington’s goaltending rotation with Charlie Lindgren, is 3-0-0. Alex Ovechkin, who’s 40 goals away from surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894, has scored 42 times in 73 career games against the Rangers. New York lost both games against Washington at Capital One Arena last season, is 1-5-0 in its past six trips to the nation’s capital and dropped 12 of their past 15 in D.C., excluding the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers won twice in D.C. last spring, sweeping the Capitals in four games in the first round.  

Ottawa Senators at Rangers (Nov. 1, 7 p.m. ET; MSG 2)

The Seantors come to Madison Square Garden for the first of three games against the Rangers this season. New York won two of three against Ottawa last season, but the Senators lead the all-time series 55-45-4 with three ties, and they’ve won four of their past six visits to MSG, though the Rangers shut them out 4-0 in the final week of last season. Goalie Linus Ullmark, acquired from the Boston Bruins during the offseason, is 5-2-1 in his career against the Rangers. Kreider (11) is the only current Rangers skater with double-digit figures in goals against Ottawa.

New York Islanders at Rangers (Nov. 3, 1 p.m. ET; MSG/NHL Network)

The Rangers and Islanders meet for the first time this season in a rare Sunday afternoon game during the NFL season. The Rangers won three of the four games against their suburban rivals last season, though the outdoor Stadium Series game went to overtime and another contest was decided in a shootout. The Islanders have won 11 of the past 19 games against the Rangers, dating to January 2021. Panarin has enjoyed great success against the Islanders in his career (13 goals and 40 points in 34 career games), but Igor Shesterkin has not (5-8-1, 3.10 goals-against average, .890 save percentage).

John Kreiser covered his first Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and is still going... More about John Kreiser

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