toronto. It looks like former draft pick Alexis Lafreniere is finally maturing into stardom.
He did it all as the New York Rangers picked up their ninth win in ten games at home in Manhattan last night.
“I just try to play at the highest level possible all the time,” says the 22-year-old French-Canadian after the 4-3 win over Columbus.
Alexis Lafreniere’s career hasn’t exactly skyrocketed since the New York Rangers first selected him in the 2020 draft — in the middle of a raging pandemic.
On the contrary, there were critical fans – and journalists – who were even willing to label him a “failure” because he had not produced enough and had not found a place in the lineup where he could perform as expected.
But this year something finally seems to be happening. He, along with Artemi Panarin, has had one of the team’s most memorable offensive plays night after night – and in tonight’s home game against Columbus came what may be their big breakthrough.
The team as a whole was not responsible for any other matches, but “Love” made sure there were points and victory in any case. First, he scored a key goal midway through the second half. Then, with just 11 seconds left in regulation time, he looked to equal the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 lead. And then, finally, he took the decisive penalty.
– He and Panarin are great now. Things happen every time they are on the ice, they create dangerous chances all the time, says coach Peter Laviolette.
1/2Photo: Frank Franklin II/AP
The wealthy 22-year-old uses no exaggeration.
– I have very good teammates in the series. When you play with Panarin, you just have to make sure you get the surfaces, he says.
– Of course, it’s fun that things are going well, but the season didn’t last long. We have a lot of hockey games left and I’m just trying to play at the highest level possible all the time.
Erik Gustafsson had another nice evening in the Garden and contributed, among other things, an assist.
Swedish rookie Leo Karlsson continues to provide his services for Anaheim.
There were no new goals in last night’s win over San Jose at home at the Honda Center, but the 18-year-old responded with a first-class performance on a signed complete-hit by Mason McTavish.
Jakob Silfverberg also contributed to the 4-1 win with an assist – with William Eklund also scoring a consolation goal for the Sharks.
The Dallas Stars swept their old rival, the Minnesota Wild, in St. Louis. Paul – That’s how he sang it. They won 8-2 – after five goals on the power play and two goals in a numerical deficit.
-It’s always the same when we come here. “They’re always aggressive against us and we make them pay on special teams,” coach Pete DeBoer says.
His teammate on the other side, Dean Evason, wheezes.
-We were terrible. awesome.
Niels Lundqvist was noted for providing an assist for the Stars – and Jonas Brodin did the same for the Wild.
Vancouver rebounded quickly after the heavy loss in Toronto yesterday. Last night they beat Montreal 5-2 at the Bell Center – and that’s without King Elias Pettersson needing to set any new marks on the log.
When the Florida Panthers beat Chicago 4-3 at home in Sunrise earlier Sunday, Oliver Ekman-Larsson showed his class once again. He sent in the fourth goal of the season and also assisted on one goal.
Rookie Connor Bedard also showed a thing or two and scored twice.