The first goal in Alexis Lafrenière’s eventual hat trick Tuesday showcased what the Rangers have known, the offensive flashes they’ve always tried to make sustainable with the No. 1 pick in 2020.
But the final two, which occurred 32 seconds apart in the third period of their 5-2 win, captured another step for Lafrenière. His defensive game has earned the trust of head coach Mike Sullivan in 5-on-6 situations — when opponents have their goaltender pulled while trailing late — recently, and during the past two wins, Lafrenière has rewarded that belief.
“It means a lot,” Lafrenière said postgame of Sullivan’s trust in those situations. “You always want to be out there late in games, either when you’re down one, up one, whatever it is.”
That serves as another layer of the phrase Sullivan used Monday, when he said that Lafrenière — after a strong finish last year to a 24-goal, 57-point campaign — still has “untapped potential.” There’s more that the Rangers coaching staff will “try to pull out of him,” Sullivan said.
The offensive potential has always been evident with Lafrenière. That was the case again Tuesday, when Mika Zibanejad slid a pass to him from his knees early in the second period and Lafrenière ripped a shot past Semyon Varlamov, off the crossbar and in. Those moments have been fleeting for most of his Blueshirts career, but Sullivan stuck by his top line of Lafrenière, Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault early in the season in hopes of capturing what made them the Rangers’ most dynamic group to end 2024-25. Their production Tuesday, which helped extend their winning streak to four games, was another sign that Sullivan’s strategy has started to pay off.
But then there’s the 5-on-6. The late-game situations. The chance that Sullivan described as an earned responsibility. He flipped the pair of pucks into the Islanders net after the Rangers cleared their zone, and with just over 40 seconds remaining Sunday, Lafrenière blocked a shot by Utah’s Dylan Guenther before drawing a penalty. Through five games, he sits in a tie for third in the NHL with four penalties drawn.
“We think that he’s a guy that’s very capable there, so we’re challenging him there to bring a defensive conscience in those situations — and he gets rewarded with some empty-net opportunities,” Sullivan said postgame Tuesday. “We’re not just handing that stuff to [Lafrenière]. We think he’s earned that, and that’s why we’ve given him that opportunity. … His complete game on both sides of the puck continues to grow and develop.”
Rangers legend Mark Messier dished out plenty of praise for 18-year-old defenseman Alberts Smits — the No. 5 overall pick in June’s draft who proceeded to make the opening night lineup — during the second intermission Tuesday.
“He’s played four games in the National Hockey League,” Messier, now an NHL analyst, said on ESPN, “and he’s looked like he’s playing 400 games in the National Hockey League. His nuances and the subtleties of his game are unparalleled for anybody I’ve seen play this position. … He’s not gonna be on the highlight offensive reels there, but this is the kind of guy you win Stanley Cups with because he does all the subtleties — he’s a shutdown defenseman that’s only 18 years old.”
