NEW YORK – All it took was a single play to awaken the Rangers from their slumber in the middle of the game.
And it came from a few usual suspects.
The burgeoning chemistry between Alexis Lafrenière and Artemi Panarin was on display throughout the first month of the 2023-24 season, with the French Bread duo making another key play on Thursday night.
A two-on-one rush led to Panarin setting up Lafrenière for the go-ahead goal in a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Madison Square Garden, matching these Rangers’ impressive 10 wins in their first 13 games.
“I just tried to run as fast as I could and open up,” Lafrenière said with a grin. “Bread was a really beautiful piece. I didn’t have to do much to it.”
In the end, it was a three-point night for the unassuming young forward, who now sits third on the team with five goals behind Chris Kreider and Panarin.
It’s part of an ongoing development for a 22-year-old whose confidence appears to be at an all-time high.
“I’m fine,” Lafrenière said earlier this week. “I had some pretty good games, I think. I just try to stay consistent.”
It’s no coincidence that this surge is occurring while he’s playing opposite Panarin, who now has a 13-game points streak and was the Rangers’ best player at the start of the new season.
“We feel more comfortable,” Lafrenière said. “Obviously he doesn’t play the same way as everyone else. I’m just trying to (learn) what he likes to do out there. … He’s probably one of the best passers in the league, so for me it’s just a matter of going for my one-timer, trying to get open and create a shooting lane.”
Keeping it simple, their team, which was centered by Filip Chytil early in the season but moved to Vincent Trocheck since Chytil landed on injured reserve last week with an upper-body injury, has emerged as the Rangers’ most reliable source. On-five offense.
As a trio, they outscored the Wild 14-1, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“They think alike, and I think they have a lot of skills that fit together and connect on the ice,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Lafrenière and Panarin. “Alexis thinks the game is about making plays and creating space and finding areas to create attacks. And when you have two guys who can read from each other and benefit from each other, that can be dangerous.”
“For me, Artemi seems like an easier player to play with because he has the puck and makes things happen. If you find spaces and areas, you can generate something.”
Louis Domingue’s unforgettable evening
Before making his first NHL appearance in 18 months, Louis Domingue was called up by a legendary goalie preparing to start his career No. 965.
Marc-Andre Fleury, a Quebec native, met him at center ice during warmups and gave him a message that Domingue won’t soon forget.
“He came to me and said, ‘It’s pretty rare for two French people to play against each other in the NHL these days, so let’s give them a good show,'” he said. “I thought he did it and I think I did my part too. It was great on his part to visit me.”
Domingue definitely kept his end of the bargain.
Forced into action due to injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, he was sharper than anyone could have expected from a third-line goalie who hadn’t seen NHL action since May 13, 2022.
The 31-year-old showed why the Rangers decided to sign him two summers ago, shortly after he nearly knocked them out of the 2022 playoffs with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He finished the game with 26 saves, including 14 in the second period where New York was significantly outplayed.
“I was just trying to get through the first five minutes,” said Domingue, making his 143rd career NHL appearance. “From experience, that was one of my key factors. When you haven’t played in the NHL for a while, you have to get going, you have to adapt to the pace of the game, the traffic and the strength of the guys in front of you. “So it was a matter of me getting through it the first time and then building on it and try to get back on my feet.”
Louis Domingue: Goalkeeper injuries force Rangers to turn to former opponents
In addition to his fairytale evening, Domingue was showered with shouts of “Louuuu!” from the Garden audience during introductions and after almost every save.
“I guess it’s easy for me to sing a name,” he joked. “It was a great experience. I wish my kids had been here to see this, but I know they were watching at home. Hopefully I can share one with them soon.”
Shesterkin has now missed three straight games because of undisclosed soreness, while Quick is dealing with an upper-body injury he suffered in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Rangers’ next game is on Sunday at 7 p.m. against the visiting team Columbus Blue Jackets, followed by a six-day break. It stands to reason that they would give their two best goaltenders an extended break by giving Domingue at least one more start.
He earned that with Thursday’s performance, along with the admiration of his teammates for continuing to chase his dream and staying ready.
“It’s great for people like that to stick around, just keep working and put themselves in a position to get an opportunity like this,” Blake Wheeler said. “Not just getting a chance, but coming here and playing the way he played was incredibly impressive. Without him we won’t win tonight, especially in the second period. He went above and beyond for us, so hats off to him.” He was certainly the star of the night.
A tale of two periods
The first two periods could not have been any different.
Laviolette called it “a story on tape.”
The Rangers (10-2-1) dominated the first game, outscoring the Wild by a lopsided 14-2 margin while controlling possession throughout. Their forecheck was suffocating, preventing Minnesota from advancing pucks and keeping the pressure off Domingue.
Meanwhile, Trocheck brought them into the fold early to continue his strong start to the season. He’s been a menacing threat, a solid defender and a strong faceoff man for most of the first 13 games, and now his offensive game is picking up steam.
The 30-year-old center scored his third goal in the last two games at 3:56, with Erik Gustafsson scoring the game-winning goal. He skipped a pass attempt from Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and then quickly passed it to Lafrenière, who found Trocheck in the high spot.
“He fills so many valuable positions on our team,” Laviolette said of Trocheck. “I feel like he could jump over and play wing on the first line, or he can play in the middle of a checking line. He’s just a really versatile player. Power play, one that’s first out the door on the penalty shootout, just his five-on-five minutes. He does a lot of things out there, and he does them really well.
That made it seven straight games in which the Rangers scored first, with Barclay Goodrow putting an exclamation point on the fast start by beating Brandon Duhaime in a tackle later in the half.
But in that second something changed drastically.
After overwhelming Minnesota in the first 20 minutes, the Blueshirts spent the next 20 minutes almost entirely on their own. Duhaime got some revenge by firing off a shot from Brock Faber to make it 1-1 with 7:27 left in the period, part of a 15-3 scoring advantage for the Wild in the second period.
“The ultimate team sport”
Credit to Domingue for preventing further damage, which left the door open for Lafrenière to turn things back in the Rangers’ favor after a player-led pep talk at halftime.
“We always talk between periods, but the players decide what happens next,” Laviolette said. “I think every now and then you steer a conversation, but I just really liked the reaction. I don’t think anyone was happy with the second one.”
The starting shot was given just 1:41 minutes into the third period, followed by a decisive goal from Wheeler later in the game. It was his first goal as a Ranger and the 37-year-old admitted he was relieved after getting the monkey off his back.
“You want to feel like you’re contributing in some way,” he said. “Of course I’m used to contributing on the scoresheet, but with our team that’s not necessarily what we need every night. Even if the goal hadn’t been scored, I felt like our team was setting the pace tonight and contributing in that way. But it was certainly a good moment to score a goal and extend the lead towards the end of the third period. It was just a perfect opportunity to score.”
Panarin scored the Blueshirts’ fourth goal on an empty-net goal, giving him a team-high 22 points (eight goals and 14 assists) in 13 games.
New York is now 8-0-1 in its last nine games, although the last three were played without Shesterkin, Chytil and defenseman Adam Fox (lower-body injury).
“Hockey is the ultimate team sport,” Wheeler said. “Those are some nice names you just mentioned and that’s what makes our team so special. To have names like that. We definitely miss having these guys on our squad, but what a gift it is to have the depth that we have and be. “I can call on Louis to come here – a man with experience and obviously experience in being successful in this building. … It’s definitely a blessing to have so many people here who can do the work.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more about his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.