Keynote USA May 19, 2024, 5:34 p.m.
After a great regular season, Alexis Lafrenière has continued to be a solid contributor for the New York Rangers on their way to the Eastern Conference finals.
Selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Saint-Eustache, Que., native came into the league with high expectations for a Rangers team looking to emerge from a rebuilding process.
Lafrenière made the team as a 19-year-old rookie and finished with 12 goals and nine assists in 56 games in the pandemic-shortened league season. He has steadily increased his production each year since then, posting career highs of 28 goals, 29 assists and 57 points this season.
“There’s always, always a lot of pressure on these young guys to come in and make an impact right away,” Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said. “The way he’s been working, the way he’s believed in himself and… just the way he’s been able to work, it’s been incredible.”
Lafrenière was shuffled between several linemates in his first three years, even playing with fellow youngsters Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko on “Kid Line.”
This season, new coach Peter Laviolette put him with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
Panarin had an MVP-caliber season with 49 goals and 71 assists to help the Rangers win the Presidents Trophy for the NHL’s best record, and Trocheck had 25 goals and 52 assists to finish second on the team with 77 points. . Playing with those two, Lafrenière finished fourth on the team in goals, sixth in assists and fifth in points.
“It’s always fun to score, but I try to play a complete game,” Lafrenière said. “Playing with Troch and ‘Bread’ obviously helps a lot. You just try to get open and when you get the chance, try to finish.”
In the playoffs so far, the trio has been the most productive line with 35 points, including 14 of the team’s 35 goals, in 10 games.
Panarin (four goals, seven assists) has four game-winning goals, including in Game 3 overtime against Carolina in the second round, and Trocheck (six goals, eight assists) scored three goals in each of the first two rounds, including the winner in the second overtime of Game 2 against the Hurricanes. Lafrenière (four goals, six assists) gives the Rangers five players with double-digit points.
“That line has been extremely productive for us and he’s a big part of that,” Laviolette said. “(Lafrenière) is playing with Artemi, who has proven to be one of the best players in the league, and (Trocheck) a workhorse in the middle who does a lot of things. But you can’t discount what Laf also does with his skill level and the way he’s grown over the course of this year. He just gets more confident as the season goes on and now as the playoffs grow.”
Chris Kreider, who scored a natural hat trick in the third period to lead the Rangers to a series-clinching victory in Game 6 against Carolina, also praised his 22-year-old teammate.
“He has incredible habits for a young man,” he said. “He always shows up on the court, the way he works on his craft, he just wants to get better, he wants to have an impact, he wants to win. “An incredible player, we are incredibly happy to have him.”
The Rangers, seeking their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in 10 years and their first championship since 1994, are in the conference finals for the second time in three years. They will host the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the series on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
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