Chris Kreider celebrates after scoring a goal in the season opener against the Sabres. Photo via USA TODAY sports
The first game of the Peter Laviolette era is in the books, and it went exactly the way the Blueshirts hoped.
The NHL season kicked off on Tuesday, but most teams did not begin until Thursday. This was the case for the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, two teams which call separate edges of the Empire State home. The puck dropped in Buffalo around 7:20 p.m., and the action ensued soon after.
On The Rush
The Rangers did not hold back. Rather than starting the game sluggish as they often did last season, they took different cues and looked great off the rush. The second line in particular which saw Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafrenière looked good, and this allowed Lafrenière to notch the first goal of the 2023-24 season.
Later in the period, Chris Kreider would score on a shorthanded goal to put the Blueshirts up 2-0. They outshot the Sabres 12-7 in that period, and this would continue into the 2nd period when Panarin scored on the blocker side to make it 3-0. Buffalo would score with about a minute left in the second period, with JJ Peterka beating Igor Shesterkin with a quick shot.
Two Firsts and a Hundredth
That would be all for the Sabres, however, as the Rangers would go on to score another two goals in the third period, including another goal by Kreider and an empty-net goal by Jacob Trouba. This resulted in the Rangers’ first win of the season, and Shesterkin’s 100th career win. It also was head coach Peter Laviolette’s first win at the helm of the Rangers.
“There’s a lot that went into training camp, they put a lot into it,” Laviolette said. “It’s one game, but there were positives to pull from that. The guys played hard.”
“I think every day of camp we got better and better at the systems,” new acquisition Nick Bonino said after the game. “And Lavi’s message was just to outwork them and what we’ve done with our systems should take care of itself.”
It was apparent right off the bat that the Rangers were injected with new life, looking vastly different on the ice than in years past. Perhaps this could be due to the new coach, but only time will tell as it’s only been one game. The Rangers will take on the Blue Jackets tomorrow night in Columbus, before heading home on Monday for their home opener against the Coyotes.
