MONTREAL — There is a natural one-track mindedness the Rangers have adopted since falling two wins short of a Stanley Cup Final berth for the second time in three years.
It has allowed everything about this 4-0-1 start — the good and the bad — to feel inconsequential.
When nothing truly matters until April, it’s easy to stay levelheaded in October.
The Blueshirts will play this regular season as the formality that it is, but don’t be surprised if emotion is hard to come by. In a way, tunnel vision to the playoffs should not only be beneficial, but indicative of the swagger with which the Rangers are currently playing.
But Hall of Fame goalie and former face of the franchise Henrik Lundqvist always talked about appreciating the journey and embracing the process ahead of the results.
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) celebrates with defenseman Victor Mancini (90) after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
The Rangers would do well to remember that.
“You can see last year as a failure because we didn’t win, but I think we proved ourselves,” Mika Zibanejad said pointedly after the Rangers defeated the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. “Compared to, maybe, three years ago, when we went to the conference finals and came back. I think the pressure was on there, but I think just having basically the same group as last year is huge for us. We know what we’re capable of doing. We know, obviously, the system better than we did last year at the beginning of the season.
“The confidence in each other and the guys in the lineup — it’s big. I think we’re working hard. There were some, maybe, in the early games, some chances that we gave up too many and maybe too big of chances. I think we’ve been trying to clean that up.
“We trust that we have a good team in here and I think everyone is ready to work every game. That’s important, that’s something that I think we’ve done a good job of.”
The Rangers have talked about their deficiencies matter-of-factly and judiciously. Tightening up on defense has been a focal point to start the season, especially since they’ve taken care of the offensive side of the puck.
They’ll say the chances are too loud or too noisy, echoing head coach Peter Laviolette’s verbiage that has taken such a deep root in this Rangers team since the moment the 59-year-old stepped into the locker room.
As much as the players are staying even-keeled, Laviolette has had the same demeanor after each game — regardless of performance, result or opponent.
The Rangers going undefeated in regulation through the first five games of the regular season may be the least surprising aspect of the NHL’s start to the 2024-25 campaign. As of Sunday morning, just three other teams — Flames, Wild and Jets — could say the same.
They’ve earned complete and utter respect from around the league.
I mean, opposing coaches and goalies are coming out and advocating for Igor Shesterkin’s big payday — with Toronto netminder Anthony Stolarz most recently saying he can see why the 28-year-old Russian is primed to become the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history after his 34-save performance against the Maple Leafs.
Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers and Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs battle for the puck during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2024/
Artemi Panarin and his league-leading 12 points (tied with the Panthers’ Sam Reinhart as of Sunday morning) are headlining every NHL graphic and dominating panel discussions.
And there was Alexis Lafreniere getting pulled for a postgame interview with Sportsnet on Saturday night in Toronto, getting recognized for the burgeoning star that the 2020 first-overall pick has undoubtedly become over the past nine months.
Artemi Panarin of the Rangers skates with the puck against Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 19, 2024.
If the five-game point streak and six total points didn’t say so, the concluding quote No. 13 delivered certainly did.
“We had a nice run last year,” Lafreniere said. “We’re working to have a longer one this year.”
