What a difference a year makes. Last season, the New York Rangers couldn’t buy a win at home to save themselves. In the 2026-27 NHL season, the story is completely different, and Mike Sullivan thinks he knows a big reason why. Shortly after Sullivan warned the Rangers against dwelling on Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury, the team responded with the ultimate performance.
“I think there’s a maturity to this group,” Sullivan admitted, via Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “I think these guys–they haven’t lost any level of enthusiasm. I think they believe in the team game that we’re trying to build here.”
Sullivan might have hit the nail on the head, and that’s not limited to his lineup decisions but also extends to how he sees the locker room operating on a daily basis. These aren’t the same Rangers from last season. It’s still early in the season, but that much is already clear. However, being without Shesterkin for the long run will truly test New York. So far, so good, but the journey is just getting started.
Sullivan makes top-six change
Although he’s been the team’s leading goal scorer through the first few games of the NHL season, Alexis Lafreniere was demoted to the second line during the Rangers’ 6-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden.
Mike Sullivan during 2026 Olympics.
At first, the decision caught fans at World’s Most Famous Arena by surprise, but Sullivan explained his thought process. “It seemed to work on the very first shift. Obviously, it was a small sample size, but I thought both lines were pretty good. We’ll watch it. We’ll see how it goes moving forward,” Sullivan said.
Even though he wasn’t completely sold on sending Lafreniere down, it made sense as a way to inject some life into a unit that hadn’t had the start to the year many had hoped for.
Thus, Pavel Dorofeyev, who looks a touch off his scoring pace, replaced Lafreniere on the first line. The move paid off immediately. The second line of Tye Kartye, J.T. Miller, and Lafreniere combined for six points as Kartye scored his first two goals of the season, Miller recorded two assists, and Lafreniere had a goal and an apple of his own, proving he can produce regardless of where he is placed in the lineup.
Lafreniere serves as example
Seven games into the season, the trade rumors surrounding the former first overall selection are long gone. Not only that, but Lafreniere’s strong performance after being moved to the second line provides further evidence of Sullivan’s point: the locker room is locked in and committed to the team’s blueprint, with all players are pulling in the same direction.
Key takeaways
- Head coach Mike Sullivan praised the New York Rangers’ maturity despite Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury.
- Alexis Lafreniere was moved to the second line during New York’s 6-2 win over Vancouver.
- Tye Kartye, J.T. Miller, and Alexis Lafreniere combined for six points on the second line.
