Ragged Thoughts

The New York Rangers opened the 2025-26 NHL Season at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins as they look to turn things around from last year's disappointing result. 

Going into the game, eyes would be on Noah Laba, who was slotted into the third-line center spot after a strong pre-season, making tonight his official NHL debut.  Gavrikov looked to play his first game with the squad as well. 

Eyes would also be witness to the first action of the Rangers' Centennial Jerseys, which looked a lot cleaner in live use than they did in promotional pictures. 

So, how would their premiere turn out? 

The Rags began the game on the power-play, which saw a first unit of Trocheck centering Miller and Panarin, with Fox and Zibanejad at each point.  

Before the game, fans would voice their dislike for this decision, as it moves Lafreniere down to PP2. However, this choice would not last the entire game. 

Throughout the first period, the Rangers continually struggled to get the puck into the Penguins' end, as their opponent found ways to maintain pressure, leading to a higher number of scoring chances. 

Late in the opening frame, it would be Justin Brazeau who would find himself all alone in the slot, lost off of an offensive faceoff. Evgeni Malkin pushes the puck through Trocheck, which lands on Brazeau's stick. With plenty of time, he goes forehand-backhand, sliding the puck just under Shesterkin's right arm and into the net for the first goal of the Penguins' season. 

The first would end with the Penguins leading 1-0. 

Cameras often gravitated to the newest captain of the Blueshirts, J.T. Miller, who could be seen in constant conversation with his teammates throughout the game. The decision to give Miller the "C" comes on the heels of a desire for a culture change within New York, made clear by the Rangers' President and General Manager, Chris Drury, back in mid-September. He would look to be the driving force of the Rangers' offense tonight, driving around the top of the offensive circle, early in the second period. 

Miller's skate blade would then give out, sending the puck weakly to the opposing boards, summing up the results of the New York Rangers' scoring tonight. 

Shesterkin would do what he usually does, making big saves in high quantity. Off a tiring, extensive shift, Ville Koivunen would find himself in the same spot as Brazeau did just a period before, only this time, Shesterkin would get the final inch of his glove on the puck, sending it pinging off the left post in a remarkable desperation save. 

But it would not prove to be enough. 

Despite adding Lafreniere to the top power-play, who would be second in shots on goal throughout with six, the Rangers saw a drasttic drop-off in scoring chances in the third period. 

Pulling the goalie led to back-to-back empty net goals from Brazeau, once again, and Blake Lizotte, firing it home from his own zone. 

Final score: Penguins 3, Rangers 0. 

Silovs would pick up the shutout, stopping all 25 shots against. 

Shesterkin would see 28 shots, stopping 27. 

Despite driving most of the offensive chances, Lafreniere would end up a -3 on the night. As capable as he is at creating chances to score, he always seems to come up just short. 

Zibanejad also found much success in shots, but none of his seven found the back of the net. 

The Rangers will look to turn things around on Thursday against the Sabres.