Still just 22, Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere putting together best stretch ...
NEW YORK – As much as it may feel like he’s a grizzled veteran at this point, it might be hard to remember that Alexis Lafreniere is just 22 years old.
Just turned 22, actually, celebrating a birthday just one day before the season opener in Buffalo.
And, taken first overall back in 2020, it was perhaps easy to consider him a disappointment with only modest success in his first three years in the league when other recent top picks like Jack Hughes and Connor Bedard seem to dominate the highlights every night.
But, he wasn’t then. And he certainly isn’t now.
Lafreniere is putting together the best stretch of his still young career, and turned in what may have been a signature performance on Sunday night, scoring the game-tying goal with 11 seconds left and then potting the only goal in the shootout in a wild, 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden.
The win, which extended the team’s streak to 10 consecutive games with at least one point – one in which they’re 9-0-1 and haven’t lost since Oct. 19 against Nashville – also extends Lafreniere’s points streak to four games, having contributed three goals and four assists over that stretch.
Even with a run earlier this year where he lit the lamp in three straight games, it’s never quite looked like this for the Saint-Eustache, Quebec native, but he refused to take any credit for his recent success.
“Playing with really good linemates right now,” he said. “(Vincent Trocheck) has been really good for us, (Artemi Panarin) is unbelievable. So, just playing with good players…it’s still really early in the season, and we’ve got a lot of games to play, so just try to stay consistent and keep playing well.”
Head coach Peter Laviolette – who will likely be without top pair defenseman Ryan Lindgren for some time after he suffered what was called an “upper-body” injury on an apparent high hit by Sean Kuraly that was ultimately only given a two-minute boarding minor – was, as you’d expect, pleased with his team’s overall effort, but particularly appreciative of the strides that Lafreniere has seemed to make under his tutelage.
“He seems to be in a good spot right now,” Laviolette said. “I think any time you can have an impact in a game, you can gain confidence from that. It’s not just him, I thought (Trocheck) in the middle was unbelievable, and obviously Panarin is playing terrific with his game right now. When they’re on the ice, good things are happening all the time, and sometimes it’s easier to feed into when you’re in the offensive zone and you’re generating chances and you start to feel it a little bit. With that, I think he can gain a little bit of confidence, and that’s a positive thing.”
