The New York Rangers are off to a strong start with the first week complete. 3-1 against good teams, the best being opening night against Tampa. A dominant 3-1 win. The all-stars, Zibanejad, Panarin, Kreider, Fox are all off to strong starts. It usually takes Zibanejad and Panarin time to get going at the start of a season but they have flown out of the gate this week. Panarin has 10 points and Zibanejad has 8.

The powerplay is just as dangerous as last season which is fantastic. Vincent Trocheck is starting to become comfortable with Coach Gallant’s system and gelling with his linemates (he centers the 2nd line and is on powerplay 1) . Chytl, Kakko, and Lafreniere have all done work over the summer and it shows. They are way more present on every shift they play. Way more aggressive, putting their newly achieved strength and weight to use. Kakko is getting a crack on the first line and Lafreniere on the second, with Chytl still centering the 3rd. All three are now on powerplay 2. This means Gallant has a lot of confidence in them. With the other additions made to patch up the weak spots on defense and face-offs, things are looking really bright. If the “kid line” keeps progressing the way they are, all 3 guys could have breakout years. Each of them could hit 15-20 and even more assists, which would greatly boost the team’s competitive level. Last season’s playoffs were a big learning experience for everyone.

Right now my only concern is that the defense can get off their game way too frequently. It’s leaving teams to too many high-chance shots that even Shesterkin can’t stop (new backup Halak was good in his first starting game, despite it being a loss. The guys in front of him made massive mistakes). I think Shesterkin’s save percentage is lower than .900 now, which is concerning. The high-scoring capabilities (mostly the dominant PP and PK) have won them games despite giving up an average of 3 goals a game. That’s not sustainable so defense needs to be worked on. The next 2 games should be easy wins so this ice time should be invaluable to keep improving.