So there was Alexis Lafreniere drilling home the overtime game-winner and there was Igor Shesterkin recording one important save after another.
What first six games?
Man, did the Rangers need this one. Man, did the Rangers earn this one, 3-2 over the Sabres in Buffalo on Thursday to snap their four-game losing streak and head back to the Garden for Saturday’s first of two against the Penguins at 2-4-1.
That it was the combination of Lafreniere and Shesterkin at the top of the charts made this perhaps a little bit sweeter, though the club also received prime-time performances from prime-time Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and a supporting cast that never let go and never took its collective eye off the task at hand.
Of course, though, the corks were popped primarily for Lafreniere, who went through six games and another 62:47 of his seventh before recording both his first NHL goal and first NHL point by beating Linus Ullmark with a left-wing snapper off a nifty two-on-one-feed from Colin Blackwell.
That capped the night for the first-overall Ping Pong Ball Kid, who’d previously been denied by Ullmark on several glorious opportunities, including one from the left doorstep in the first minute of the third period with the Blueshirts holding a 2-1 lead. Lafreniere had four shots on five attempts in 15:00 of compelling work primarily on a remodeled 1A Line with Zibanejad and Buchnevich.
“I had a lot of good chances and I was just going to keep going and it was going to go in for sure,” Lafreniere said while wearing the Broadway chapeau that appeared older than the 19-year-old himself. “I kept going, kept grinding, and a nice pass by Blackie on what was kind of an open net.
“For sure it is [a weight off my shoulders]. I saw the puck go in and all the boys jumping on the ice. It was a pretty special moment.”
Lafreniere may have been held off the board his first six games, but he was engaged and on the puck while, as one of a cast of thousands, moving from line to line. His work ethic and commitment were undeniable. So was his popularity among his teammates.
And of course, so was his skill level. It was quite obviously only a matter of time for the lad from Saint-Eustache, and the time was 2:47 of overtime on Jan. 28, 2021 in Buffalo.
“Obviously everybody talks about his world-class talent but this guy is a ballsy kid, he really is,” David Quinn said. “I don’t care if he’s the first pick or the 271st pick, he’s a ballsy kid, a kid you want to be around.
“He’s had a lot of fun with the fact that he’s been snake-bit, he probably should have had four goals tonight but for him to get his first in that moment, in that situation and under those circumstances, I couldn’t be happier for him. His game was coming, he was playing better and better each night, so it’s just great to see this.”
The Rangers played with passion and commitment in owning this game for 60 minutes everywhere but the scoreboard. They were quick on the puck, controlled play for shifts at a time below the hash marks and were attentive in their work without the puck in both the neutral and defensive zones. They held a 24-9 advantage in shots through two periods that was entirely reflective of play.
But after taking a 1-0 lead in the first, the Sabres tied it. And after bringing a 2-1 lead into the third, the Sabres tied it again on a power play at 4:47. Over their last four games, the Rangers blew one two-goal lead and, get this, six one-goal leads. They stood firm in this one after Buffalo tied it with Shesterkin’s work an important reason.
Indeed, the 25-year-old Russian, who’d been pretty average through his first three starts, set the tone with a big-time save from the slot on Victor Olofsson just two minutes into the contest. That was critical for both a goaltender and a team with wobbly confidence.
“I tried my best and it was a save I had to make for the team,” Shesterkin said via a translator. “The team played very hard and as a goalie I wanted to support the team and do a great job in net.”
Support flowed from nets on out through the defense to the forwards and back again. But the night was reserved for Lafreniere’s coming out party. He waited seven games after waiting an additional three-plus months to be drafted, the pandemic denying him the opportunity to mount the stage in Montreal as the first-overall.
“If anybody is equipped to handle it …” Quinn said. “He never let any of it bother him or rattle him. It just talks to his mental toughness and perseverance as a human being.
“Obviously he’s got a lot of talent, but there’s so much more that goes into it. He’s got those characteristics and if anybody can handle these circumstances, it’s him.”