Perhaps a bit under the radar with the Rangers going 7-3-1 to start the year with some pretty big offensive explosions, Pavel Dorofeyev is off to a bit of a slow start. At least statistically. Dorofeyev, coming off a 37 goal, 64 point season in Vegas, was Chris Drury’s big acquisition this offseason. Sending two first round picks to the Golden Knights and promptly signing him to a massive 7 year, $11 million contract, the pressure on Pavel Dorofeyev was clear from the start. He needs to be more than just a goal scorer, but he also needs to score goals.

Through 11 games, Pavel Dorofeyev has just 2 goals and 3 assists on the season, and just 1 goal and 1 assist at 5v5. For comparison’s sake, once Oliver Bjorkstrand flipped with Tye Kartye, the latter has put up 2 goals and 5 assists without any powerplay time. That’s in line with his numbers from last season when he was primarily with JT Miller. Miller has been a far cry from the point per game player the Rangers thought they were getting, carrying the same 2-5-7 line as Kartye, but with a goal and an assist on the powerplay.

Of course, context matters when talking stats. The trio of Kartye, Miller, and Pavel Dorofeyev has dominating possession numbers, with a 60% or higher shot attempt share, expected goals share, and high danger chance share. They are going out there with roughly 46% offensive zone starts against top competition and absolutely wrecking them. Last night the trio was mostly matched against the Leo Carlsson line, and they wound up with an 80% xG share. That’s absurd.

Pavel Dorofeyev is doing everything else right

A popular concern when the Rangers traded for and extended Pavel Dorofeyev was whether he’d be an empty calorie goal scorer. The Rangers didn’t need a guy who would coast and contribute very little in the neutral or defensive zones. They didn’t need another Artemi Panarin. They needed a guy who can dominate, back check, and be tough to play against. Dorofeyev has been as advertised in that regard.

The Rangers haven’t played enough games for Dorofeyev’s stats to be considered gospel, but we have seen enough to know he’s not coasting. He is routinely back on the back check, disrupting passing lanes and covering his man. He’s in on the forecheck and he gets to dirty areas for deflections. He’s also finding open ice for his own chances, averaging 2 shots per 60 more than he did last year. What’s changed this year is the Rangers’ shooting percentage when he’s on the ice, which is under 7% to start the season. He should be around 9%-10%.

His on-ice shot percentage is inclusive of the team while he’s on the ice, and that’s a part of the story. The bigger part is his individual shooting percentage (5.7%), which is almost 10 points below is career average (14.3%). His two goals have come on 35 shots on goal. If he were to be around his career average, we’d be looking at 5 goals and–when you factor in the team’s on-ice shooting percentage–at least 2 assists.

The answer is pretty clear: Pavel Dorofeyev is simply snake bitten right now. It happens. It’s nothing to be concerned about, at least not yet. Stints like this will always catch eyes when it’s someone like Dorofeyev, especially in his current situation and the hooplah that came with his acquisition. Given how bad PP1 has looked, this will eventually course correct when that unit gets going.

Should some changes be made?

The Rangers do need to get Pavel Dorofeyev going. It hasn’t mattered where he’s played at 5v5, he’s been mostly dominant and that scoring drought will end sooner rather than later. The powerplay is the bigger concern, as the Rangers are 16th with the man advantage with a 20.6% conversion rate. PP1 (Dorofeyev, Miller, Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere) has accounted for five of the seven goals with the man advantage, which is fine on paper but there needs to be improvement. They too have been inconsistent.

Perhaps some more balance to the units is in order. PP1 is stacked but not getting the job done as frequently as they should. PP2 has just two goals but is also not getting the same ice time split. If the goal is to get a more balanced ice time split, then the units need to be more balanced as well. If not splitting the units, then getting Dorofeyev to the net mouth with Miller moving back to bumper is probably the move I’d make.

Pavel Dorofeyev is going to start getting more eyes on his goal scoring struggles to start the season. But those goals will come. He’s doing everything else right, he’s just been exceedingly unlucky so far. Once one goes in, the floodgates will open.

Last night was the course correction the doctor ordered. On home ice, the Rangers dominated the Anaheim Ducks, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before cruising to a 5-2 win. Dylan Garand looked good again as he improved to 3-2-1 on the season. The Rangers got depth scoring from three of their four lines, including PP2. Oliver Bjorkstrand showed he really shouldn’t be on the fourth line. After a few tough losses on the road, this is how the Rangers needed to respond. Perhaps most importantly, this was the second straight game where the Rangers opened things up a bit, getting 30 shots on goal.

The offense has been carried by Alexis Lafreniere through the first 11 games, and he appears to be unstoppable. He has become this year’s Mika Zibanejad, where he seems to do something every game that grabs headlines. The confidence and quick decision making with the puck on his stick is why he was the first overall pick, and it’s something we haven’t seen consistently until this season.

Lafreniere is done peeling off on rushes, playing passively and deferring to his veteran teammates. He has grabbed full control of the top line and has run with it to excellent results. His backhand, tape to tape pass to start Gabe Perreault’s tic-tac-goal was near perfection.

Speaking of beautiful goals, Oliver Bjorkstrand needs to get back into the top six. He’s too good to be toiling around on a makeshift fourth line. His two goal performance hopefully reminded fans why he was given $4.5 million this offseason, with both goals wired top corner, glove side. Not a direct comparison, it reminded us in our group chat of when Colin Blackwell was in the top six instead of other skill players–like Lafreniere–at the time in 2021.

Tye Kartye is a solid hockey player and he’s been a great waiver pickup. He’s not stopping any blue chip prospects from playing in the top six. But we do need to take a step back and see if his inclusion in the top six, and essentially stapled to JT Miller, is the right course of action. The Rangers offense is very inconsistent, it’s clear the Rangers need another scorer there, and they have a 20 goal scorer in a misfit role.

Bjorkstrand was signed to be secondary scoring and he looked just fine in the home opener on the line with Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev. There are ways to make this work.

Sean Durzi, who drew ire from fans as one of the primary pieces in the Vincent Trocheck trade, quickly endeared himself to the fans as a steady defensive presence who can move the puck. He adds significant depth on the blue line as a player with underrated defensive play and solid puck movement and vision. Durzi has shown his willingness to be a team player, going after Frank Vatrano after he bumped Garand. Durzi seems to grow at least a foot in height whenever there’s a scrum.

This is how vibes change, when veteran leaders–even if they don’t have letters–stop the trash talk and disrespect immediately. No need for a fight, just a slap of the stick and a “gentle” reminder that this stuff won’t be tolerated.

If the Rangers are going to find sustainable success, this is the kind of response they need to have after a minor skid. Last year’s team couldn’t stop the bleeding. This year’s team responds in a big way, at least through their 7-3-1 start to the season. No team goes 82 84games without lapses and losing streaks. It’s how teams respond that separates the winners from the losers. This response and their 7-3-1 start, despite clear holes in the roster, shows the Rangers may have finally ditched their losing attitude.

The Rangers are facing some adversity, having gone winless in their last two games. The Devils blew them out, followed by getting goalied in Columbus. Losses happen. Losing streaks happen. But those two losses highlighted two concerns: The bottom four, specifically the second pair, are getting caved in; and the forwards need to generate more shots on net. The Rangers pass too much and don’t get rewarded for their offensive zone time. That will make things easier on the defense too. So both are related.

The Ducks aren’t nearly as good as they were last year, at least not to start the season. This isn’t a soft landing for the Blueshirts, but it’s better than facing Colorado.

Rangers Lines

Gabe Perreault-Mika Zibanejad-Alexis Lafreniere
Tye Kartye-JT Miller-Pavel Dorofeyev
Will Cuylle-Noah Laba-Eeli Tolvanen
Oliver Bjorkstrand-Justin Dowling-Taylor Raddysh

Vlad Gavrikov-Adam Fox
Marcus Pettersson-Sean Durzi
Alberts Smits-Braden Schneider

Dylan Garand gets the start.

Scratches: Matt Rempe, Scott Morrow
Injuries: Joe Veleno (IR – lower body), Joonas Korpisalo (IR – lower body), Igor Shesterkin (LTIR – lower body)

Ducks Lines

Alex Killorn-Leo Carlsson-Nikita Klepov
Frank Vatrano-Mikael Granlund-Bennett Sennecke
AJ Greer-Roger McQueen-Cutter Gauthier
Jeff Malott-Tim Washe-Judd Caufield

Jackson Lacombe-Noah Warren
Tyson Hinds-Tristan Luneau
Pavel Mintyukov-Nick Jensen

Ville Husso gets the start.

Game time is 7pm.

Matt Rempe burst onto the scene for the Rangers in the 2023-2024 season, immediately getting into a fight in an outdoor game, also his first game of the season. Rempe also notched the first goal of that postseason for the Rangers, uproaring the Madison Square Garden crowd into a frenzy. Thus, a love affair began between the Garden faithful and Rempe, a towering fourth line bruiser.

We can’t know for sure if that love affair is why the Rangers keep giving Matt Rempe chances, but the fan favorite is still on New York’s roster and still getting into NHL games. According to the Rangers as they constructed their team for the season, more valuable than Jaro Chmelar, who is now in Hartford. Chmelar is objectively better than Rempe in every facet of the game except for face punching.

Last season Matt Rempe struggled mightily before suffering a season-ending injury in a fight with Ryan Reaves. Before that, Rempe’s career was mired in controversies due to ugly hits and some admitted bias from the refs. Rempe kept trucking along, but did not provide much in the way of offense or strong defensive play. As an energy guy, he was fine. But energy guys need to have the on-ice performance to justify not having a truly defined role. Rempe does not have the numbers to support his role.

Now in year three on the Rangers, Matt Rempe is more of a token player and mascot for the fans rather than a useful NHL player. Watching him get into a fight against the Tampa Bay Lightning felt sadder than anything, as the fight ended quickly and Rempe quickly found his way back to limited ice time. Even worse, Rempe’s fight came with the Rangers up 2-0 in the game and all the momentum flowing in New York’s favor. It was a poor time within a game to fight, but Rempe did anyway, likely trying to stay relevant on the roster. While New York won, if Tampa Bay came back, that fight could have been a catalyst for them.

Rempe is a fascinating player because he brings us back to even five years ago when enforcers roamed around on each team’s roster. New York has had their fair share, but as the league realized enforcers didn’t bring much to the table, most teams have dropped them from their respective rosters. It’s entirely fair to wonder if Rempe would even be an NHL player if not for the love affair with the Rangers crowd.

That brings me to my overall point: Matt Rempe is simply not good enough to play in the NHL. 

There’s a reason Rempe barely sees any ice time when he does get into the lineup. There’s a reason Rempe often doesn’t even make the starting lineup. Again, Rempe brings no offense and very little on-ice awareness. His defensive play leaves plenty to be desired. New York has plenty of players who can take his roster spot and deliver far more value, while also not risking any major penalties or unnecessary fights. 

The divide here is that many still love the concept of an enforcer. It’s a throwback and a call to violence, which is why many hockey fans love the sport so much. However, what should matter above all is if the Rangers are doing everything they can to win games.

With Matt Rempe in the lineup, I can confidently say New York is not prioritizing icing the best team possible.

Per Mollie Walker, the New York Rangers will be signing 37 year old center Luke Glendening to a professional tryout. Glendening has been bouncing around the NHL for most of the 2020s at this point, bouncing between Detroit, Dallas, Tampa, New Jersey, and Philadelphia since Covid. A fourth line center at best, Glendening would be another body to throw into the fourth line center mix with Justin Dowling. That’s about all he is at this point.

There was likely a point in his career where Luke Glendening was good. After all, he’s a 13 year veteran after going undrafted. But those years have long passed him by. Over the last three seasons, he’s been on par with Barclay Goodrow, albeit at one-third of the cost. There isn’t much difference between Luke Glendening and Justin Dowling, so my best guess is Chris Drury and Mike Sullivan are hoping to get a short term boost before Joe Veleno can return.

The Rangers fourth line, currently comprised of Dowling centering Oliver Bjorkstrand and one of Taylor Raddysh or Matt Rempe, is a disaster right now. It has no role and no identity. Bjorkstrand is a scorer, Raddysh isn’t a fit with the Rangers, Rempe is a fringe NHLer, and Dowling should be in the AHL. Glendening doesn’t add any value, unfortunately. He’s just another guy they hope can eat minutes until Veleno is healthy.

Though in all fairness, Luke Glendening is excellent on faceoffs and is a very good and fast skater. At the very least, those two skills are more usable than whatever Dowling is bringing to the lineup.

2026-2027 New York Rangers Record: 6-3-1 (2nd in Metro)
Last Week’s Results: W 4-1 vs TBL, L 7-1 @ NJD, OTL 1-0 @ CBJ
This Week’s Schedule: 10/19 vs ANA, 10/22 @ TOR, 10/24 @ OTT
Last Week’s Rangers Fan Confidence: 5.55

Top stories last week:

• The Rangers had a very .500 week, beating Tampa, getting crushed by New Jersey, and getting goalied by Columbus.
• In this week’s Patreon post (subscribe here!), Dave talked the Rangers start and vibes and whether they were sustainable.
  • On this week’s Blue Seats After Dark, Dave talked the new cap situation for the Rangers. Now they can land a big fish.
• Live From the Blue Seats (follow here!)
• The Rangers continued life without Igor Shesterkin, and there is still a path to success.
• The defense pairs need to be shaken up, as the second pair is getting crushed out there. It does beg the question when Scott Morrow will play, but a shakeup is needed more.
• The fourth line is a mess right now, as Cole Beaudoin didn’t stick and the Rangers have Justin Dowling in as a stopgap. Jaro Chmelar didn’t stick either and now Taylor Raddysh is back up.
• Despite the injuries and some clear holes in the lineup, these Rangers are for real.
• On the bright side, Alexis Lafreniere is showing why he was a first overall pick.

Please take a second to answer the NY Rangers Fan Confidence Poll below and give us an idea of how confident you are in the Rangers, their direction, coaching, management, prospects, and overall quality on the ice. You can click the tag “Fan Confidence Poll” to view historical polls.

The Rangers goaltending situation isn’t going to disappear from headlines any time soon. No matter how Dylan Garand plays, there will always be questions about whether the Rangers can improve. With Igor Shesterkin done for the season and Joonas Korpisalo out another few weeks, this is Garand’s net with Spencer Martin as his backup. Garand has carried the load quite well, putting up a .910 SV% since Shesterkin’s injury, with the blowout loss to the Devils weighing that number down significantly. Yet the Rangers goaltending situation is still hanging around.

Rangers goaltending situation does depend on Garand

1. Garand’s .910 save percentage is right where we want him to be. Even weighed down by the Devils game, Garand has been excellent and has given the Rangers some breathing room to make decisions. Generally speaking, Garand simply needs to be league average, around a .905 SV%, to keep the Rangers in games. He’s done that through the first two weeks after the Shesterkin injury. With the way the Rangers defend as a whole, he should be able to keep that .910 SV%. Of course the Rangers defense needs to stay solid, but that’s a whole separate concern right now.

2. As long as Garand plays like this, the Rangers probably don’t need to go out and get a starter. But we do need to account for the situation where he falters. We know Martin isn’t it. It’s highly unlikely Korpisalo will be any better. That’s where the trade for a starter begins to shape the Rangers goaltending situation. James Reimer was just signed to a PTO with the Hartford Wolf Pack, and though he’s likely not supplanting Garand as the starter, he could be another option for the backup spot if Korpisalo falters.

Worst case scenario, Reimer isn’t it and gets released. Best case scenario, he’s the NHL backup. Most likely scenario, he’s the AHL backup, as Hartford’s goaltending depth has been gutted by the current Rangers goaltending situation.

3. But what if the Rangers need to go out and trade for a starter? Connor Hellebuyck isn’t it and it makes little sense to add more drama to the Rangers goaltending situation with Hellebuyck’s long term contract. The Rangers goaltending situation doesn’t warrant a big contract like that. They would need a rental, which not only addresses the goalie need this year without adding drama, but costs significantly less. Rental goalies rarely get much in trades.

There are a bunch of starters of varying quality that could be had: Jordan Binnington (STL), John Gibson (DET), and Darcy Kuemper (LAK) lead the pack among teams currently in the bottom three in their respective divisions. There are other names out there, but it’s too early in the season to determine who might truly become available.

The backup spot is the concern

4. Even before the season began, the Ranger goaltending situation had some backup goalie drama. The Rangers got lucky when they waived Garand and he cleared. Korpisalo had a decent enough camp to “beat” Garand for the backup spot in camp, but we haven’t seen if he will be able to hold the spot for the season. If so, then great. The Rangers won’t need to waste assets on a goalie to get them to the finish line this season. If not, then the Rangers are looking at a backup goalie. Cheaper, but less predictable.

5. Again Reimer was likely brought in to be backup insurance on Korpisalo when he returns. But should both falter, then Reimer will get cut and the Rangers will begin a search for a backup goalie. Backups are certainly easier to come by and should at least cost less than the starters mentioned above. No real point in going through the backups, as too many names would help address the Rangers goaltending situation and we’d just be throwing darts right now.

The Rangers have time

6. The Rangers goaltending situation doesn’t need to be addressed right now. Garand’s play has bought them significant time, especially since he rebounded after the Devils game with an absurd performance against Columbus last night in the overtime loss. It seems Mike Sullivan and Chris Drury are content letting the Rangers goaltending situation play out for a little bit.

While the Rangers goaltending situation is getting the headlines, the need to adjust a bit both on offense (get more actual shots on net) and on defense (the defense pairs need a rework) is more of a priority. Garand has bought time. Now it’s Sully’s turn to meet him halfway.

The Rangers had their first true bomb of a game against the Devils, losing 7-1 with some true weaknesses getting exposed. There are two changes to the lineup: Taylor Raddysh in for Matt Rempe/Jaro Chmelar and Alexis Lafreniere and Pavel Dorofeyev flipped again. The Rangers need more consistent offense, meaning getting more shots on net as the focus on quality over quantity has reached a breaking point. The defense pairs need to be shaken up too, especially without Igor Shesterkin in net.

Rangers Lines

Gabe Perreault-Mika Zibanejad-Alexis Lafreniere
Tye Kartye-JT Miller-Pavel Dorofeyev
Will Cuylle-Noah Laba-Eeli Tolvanen
Oliver Bjorkstrand-Justin Dowling-Taylor Raddysh

Vlad Gavrikov-Adam Fox
Marcus Pettersson-Sean Durzi
Alberts Smits-Braden Schneider

Dylan Garand gets the start.

Scratches: Matt Rempe, Scott Morrow
Injuries: Joe Veleno (IR – lower body), Joonas Korpisalo (IR – lower body), Igor Shesterkin (LTIR – lower body)

Blue Jackets Lines

Matthew Knies-Adam Fantilli-Kent Johnson
Valeri Nichushkin-Sean Monahan-Conor Garland
Dmitri Voronkov-Charlie Coyle-Mathieu Oliver
Danton Heinan-Luca Del Bel Belluz-Ryan Lomberg

Zach Werenski-Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen-Denton Mateychuk
Carson Soucy-Erik Gudbranson

Jet Greaves gets the start.

Game time is 7pm.

I am willing to admit that I am often wrong about the New York Rangers. Any writer who claims otherwise is lying (cough, Dave, cough). However, as Alexis Lafreniere continues to improve during his NHL career, I feel vindicated. See, I never once gave up on Lafreniere. Now, the former #1 overall pick is a top scorer in the NHL, with no signs of stopping.

You might be wondering why Alexis Lafreniere took so long to reach this career peak, or if this is just a hot streak. Those are fair questions that we don’t know the answers to just yet. When the Rangers extended him, it was clear they thought he was a top-six forward, which he was at the time, and could be a lot more for years to come. His $7.45 million cap hit was in line with other top-six forwards, but not necessarily in line with top line forwards or superstars. Now, all of a sudden, Alexis Lafreniere’s contract is one of the best bargains in the NHL.

This isn’t to say Alexis Lafreniere is going to be a superstar. He’s not going to be Connor McDavid. That said, anyone who watches him play and doesn’t see star or top line potential is holding bias against him due to the rocky start to his career. While Lafreniere wasn’t a star in his first year in the NHL, he developed fine and contributed to the NHL team in a way that many top five picks do while adjusting to the game. Remember, Lafreniere had less time to develop because of Covid and was buried behind star depth both at 5v5 and on the powerplay.

The Rangers were competing and had a lethal powerplay and top six. Winning became the priority over developing their top pick. The result was expected: Lafreniere scored 31 and 39 points in his second and third years. Ranger fans understandably grew frustrated, but under the hood there were some larger issues at play.

Alexis Lafreniere played just 13:59 and 15:13 per game in his second and third seasons when he should have been developing in a larger role. He bounced between second and third line minutes and barely saw any powerplay time to help improve his stats. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when his ice time jumped to 17:16 in the 2023-2024 season, earning a spot on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, he put up a career year and was one of the Rangers leading scorers in the playoffs.

Even still, Alexis Lafreniere didn’t get top powerplay time and wasn’t leveraged in important situations. When the Rangers took steps back in 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, he took steps back as well. It wasn’t until Panarin was traded that Lafreniere was forced into top of the lineup minutes and top powerplay time. He’s been a point per game player since. Funny how that works.

You may roll your eyes at this, but opportunities and confidence matter in the NHL. After a fantastic 2024-2025 postseason, the Rangers didn’t embrace Lafreniere as a top line forward. He continued to play on the second power-play unit and was not a top option for the team. Hockey players are human, and it was discouraging for him to be shunted aside yet again after such a strong season and playoffs.

Last season was the start of the Rangers developing Lafreniere properly, again after the Panarin trade. Unsurprisingly, the player who was considered talented enough to be the first overall pick ran with it. Mike Sullivan gave him a chance in that role. Now, knowing he’s a stalwart on the first power play unit and first line. Alexis Lafreniere is playing like a star.

Development is not linear. Young players need opportunities and confidence. For Lafreniere, both are here. For Lafreniere, he is now here.

Live From the Blue Seats is back as Rob and Dave talk the Rangers loss to the Devils and what changes are needed for the Rangers to take the next step as possible contenders. The Rangers second defense pair has been getting caved in, is it time to flip some things around? How about the offense? Should the Rangers look to focus a bit more on getting shots on net instead of looking for that perfect play? Has the balance of quality vs. quantity shifted too far in one direction?

All that, plus we answer your questions!

Be sure to follow us on Bluesky here.

Subscribe and listen on Apple here.

Subscribe and turn on notifications on our YouTube channel.