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Rangers week ahead: Connor McDavid pays early visit to MSG
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- Rangers week ahead: Connor McDavid pays early visit to MSG
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The New York Rangers must start scoring at home, especially with Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers coming to Madison Square Garden this week.
The Rangers are scoreless in two home games, so far, totaling 120 minutes of play. That won't do again with McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the high-powered Oilers making their only visit of the season to the Garden on Tuesday.
New York opened its season with a lackluster 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG in Mike Sullivan's coaching debut on Broadway. After road wins at Buffalo (4-0) and Pittsburgh (6-1), the Rangers returned home Sunday and dominated the Washington Capitals , only to lose 1-0 because Caps goalie Charlie Lindgren stood on his head in the 35-save shutout.
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After hosting the two-time Stanley Cup runners-up, the Rangers hit the road for the rest of the week, visiting the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Related: Top Rangers free agent targets after Connor McDavid extension with Oilers
Who's Hot
No goalie in the NHL is off to a better start than Igor Shesterkin , who's allowed just two goals and won two of his first three starts. He's stopped 83 of 85 shots for a sensational .976 save percentage, earned his 22nd career shutout in the win against the Sabres, and been the best player on the Rangers through the first week of the season.
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Adam Fox needed 48 games last season to score three goals. He reached that number in his first three games this season, when he scored twice on the power play in the win at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
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Who's Not
No one was awful in the first week, but the Rangers need more offense from Artemi Panarin , their leading scorer in each of the past six seasons. Panarin missed all six preseason games because of injuries and looks like a player who's still getting his legs and timing back. He has two assists in four games, a slow start for a star player who's averaged 1.28 points per game with the Rangers.
Rangers lookahead this week includes …
An All-Canadian five-day stretch, including visits to two of their Original Six rivals.
Edmonton Oilers at Rangers (Oct. 14. 7 p.m. ET; MSG)
Edmonton, which will be playing its first road game, has enjoyed great success against the Rangers over the past seven seasons. The Oilers are 9-2-1 in their past 12 against them — including 5-1-0 at the Garden. They swept the season series in 2024-25, outscoring New York 9-3, which included a 3-1 win at MSG on March 16.
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McDavid has excellent numbers against the Rangers (nine goals and 23 points in 15 games). Then again, who doesn't he have great numbers against?
The Rangers have fared slightly better against Draisaitl, the newest member of the 400-goal club, who has eight goals and 21 points in 20 games.
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Shesterkin is 1-2-0 with a 3.65 GAA in three games against the Oilers. He and Jonathan Quick split the two losses to the Oilers last season, but Quick owns a 25-13-6 record against Edmonton with a 2.27 GAA, a .918 save percentage and four shutouts — mostly from his days with the Los Angeles Kings .
Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs (Oct. 16, 7 p.m.; MSG)
It's a good bet that whoever wins at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, the game will go beyond 60 minutes. Five of the Rangers' past eight visits there were decided in overtime or a shootout. They've won five of those eight games, including a 4-1 victory in their only trip to Toronto last season. But the Maple Leafs won their past four visits to MSG and six of the past nine games overall.
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Panarin has fine career numbers over 25 games against the Maple Leafs (nine goals and 27 points). Shesterkin's played well against Toronto (2.67 GAA, .914 save percentage) but has just a 6-4-2 record.
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The Rangers are one of the few teams that's held Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews to less than a point per game (23 points; 10 goals, 13 assists in 24 games). John Tavares , now in his 17th NHL season, has 53 points (18 goals, 35 assists) in 60 games against the Rangers.
Rangers at Montreal Canadiens (Oct. 18, 7 p.m. MSG)
To say that the Rangers fared poorly in Montreal over the years would be an understatement; they are 72-206-40-5 all-time since joining the NHL in 1926.
But things have been better recently: The Rangers were 1-0-1 in Montreal last season and are 6-0-2 in their past eight visits to Bell Centre. Their last regulation loss in Montreal was nearly seven years ago, a 5-2 defeat on Dec. 1, 2018.
Shesterkin has been fabulous against the Canadiens. He's 5-1-0 all-time vs. Montreal with a 1.99 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Quick's been almost as good (9-4-2, 2.51 GAA, .914 save percentage, two shutouts).
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Panarin also excels against Montreal with 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 23 games.
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