It was a rough few weeks for Rangers wing Alexis Lafreniere.
During the preseason, the 22-year-old had a hard time getting up to speed with the rest of his team. Granted, the Rangers didn’t play much better as the Blueshirts entered the 2023-24 NHL season after going 1-5 in their exhibition games, but Lafreniere had room for improvement.
In four preseason games, Lafreniere had one point (one assist) and was minus-4 on the ice.
But just 3:47 into Thursday's 5-1 win over the Sabres, Lafreniere took an Artemi Panarin pass and knocked it into the back of the net to start off the Rangers’ season on a high note.
“It’s good to get one early,” Lafreniere said after the game. “Didn’t do much on it, but great play by ‘Bread.’ When you play with guys like ‘Bread’ you’re just trying to get open and he’s going to find you. That’s what I tried to do today.”