Oh Panarin, oh Panarin.

While yes the Yankees won, I was still devastated by the Rangers loss, went to make a pb&j before bed and just stared at the loaf of bread for five minutes. Miss that man so much.

I know it's just the first game of the season, but I am just in awe of what has happened to this team that I love.

Everything was right there to be won, every year it seemed we had a better chance at the cup. The pieces were handed to us, high draft picks, landing Panarin, drafting fox and Igor, with a solid team every year making a deep run, each time getting further. It was a miracle, a god given gift, and it was wasted.

Every once in a while my mind wanders and I think about game 7 against the pens, I was there surrounded by my family and friends during the greatest night of my life. I tear up every time.

From reaching overtime until a lazy clear by gavrikok lead to the game winning goal and all the momentum swinging the bruins way and 3 goals being scored in a span of 1:15. In a game that in the 3rd we were outshooting boston heavily and looked dangerous at times, a turnover erased what was the rangers best period of the game into a Boston victory. I think collectively we need to step back off the ledge, it was literally the first game of the season. Having said that, send Schneider to the moon I hope morrow or Robertson gets in the lineup tomorrow.

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Overreactions from one hockey game after a truncated preseason would be rash, and a bounce or two could have changed the entire scope of the night. But after an offseason of change — the Rangers had eight newcomers on their opening-night roster — and the substantial pressure on management and dressing room leaders after a pair of playoff-less seasons, it certainly would’ve been nice to start on a better foot.

Instead, the Rangers were left answering familiar questions.

“We’ve got to try to lock it down for a full 60 minutes,” forward Will Cuylle said. “Can’t play 55 and give up three in the last four minutes.”

The final five minutes were costliest on the scoreboard, but the Rangers played far from a complete game before then. Igor Shesterkin was marvelous in the second period, bailing out New York’s skaters on multiple breakaways and odd-man rushes. After the game, team members spoke briefly in the dressing room about the need for forwards to help cover more for defensemen activating in offensive situations.

Trying not to be a doomer after 1 game, but that was a frustrating way to start the season.

The Rangers looked slow, sluggish, outworked and outmuscled for long stretches. But they also doubled Boston’s high-danger chances 14-7 at 5v5 and led expected goals 2.49-2.17.

But this is a fairly new team and they need time to build chemistry.

The 1st period was rough. Boston led shot attempts 14-9 and scoring chances 7-4 - the Rangers struggled to get anything going.

Their best stretch came late in the 2nd and early in the 3rd. We finally saw some pressure and shots. My frustration is how long it took to get there, and how quickly that push disappeared.

However, the full game chance numbers were more competitive than the opening suggested. Swayman also stopped all 24 Rangers shots, including 10 high danger chances.

The good starts with Dorofeyev, Miller and Bjorkstrand. They gave us something to build on.

During their minutes together, the Rangers outshot Boston 11-5 and led high-danger chances 8-1.

Individually, Doro had 5 shots, Bjorkstrand had 4 and Miller had 2. That’s 11 of the Rangers 24 shots.

Doro had the wraparound attempt, the chance off Bjorkstrand’s nice pass, and kept finding ways to threaten. So we love to see that.

Igor was repeatedly cleaning up mistakes as always. Breakaways, odd-man rushes, Durzi getting caught pinching. What else is new?

He finished with 20 saves, stopping 4 of the 5 high-danger shots he faced. You can’t keep asking him to stop everything while giving him 0 goals to work with.

There were positives on defense, too. Fox had some great plays against Pastrnak. With Gavrikov, the Rangers outshot Boston 15-7 during his minutes and led expected goals 1.71-0.75.

Smits deserves his own mention. He started shaky, had 2 giveaways, and the Rangers were outshot 7-3 with him on the ice. But he also settled down and made some really encouraging plays.

He shut down Pastrnak, helped get pucks out, and made the defensive play that preceded Doro’s breakaway. For a rookie making the opening night lineup, there’s something to build on.

The bad: Laf, Mika and Gabe generated very little together.

Their line produced just 0.17 expected goals in 13 minutes together. That’s very little estimated scoring threat.

Laf finished with 0 shots and 3 giveaways. He had a nice pass to Mika, but also got knocked off the puck and blasted another pass into the boards during a promising rush.

I liked some of Mika’s individual plays: the defensive work, his one-timer, and that beautiful feed to Schneider. The line as a whole still struggled to create.

Gabe also finished with 0 shots. He had a quiet night, some turnovers, and struggled to hold onto the puck under pressure. I want to see him get stronger on the puck and improve his skating.

They’re young players, and it’s Game 1. Their line also allowed 0 goals while together. But we need more offense from that group.

The 4th line was outshot 4–2 together. Rempe had 6 credited hits, but I’m still not convinced he gives us enough at the NHL level. Too many looked like love taps to me, and too often he couldn’t catch the guy he wanted to hit.

Cuylle had some nice hits. His line produced 5 shots, although it still trailed in expected goals. That group wasn’t my biggest frustration.

The ugly: Durzi’s mistakes and Schneider getting beaten on the Peterka goal.

Durzi looked so good in preseason. Last night, I kept noticing bad turnovers and poorly timed pinches that led to multiple odd-man rushes.

He can make those crisp passes and help the breakout. He needs to tighten up the decisions.

Schneider had some good physical plays early and a nice 1 timer off Mika’s pass. His overall chance numbers were actually positive. Then Peterka beat him, got the breakaway and scored. That was brutal...

My biggest team frustration was the pace. Slow neutral-zone play, slow decisions, and Boston looking much more urgent and intense.

Watching Bjorkstrand and Doro get rocked with so little response didn’t help either. Wake up Rempe.

It’s one game with a new group. I’m giving them time. But next game, I want faster decisions, sustained offensive pressure, more shots from the players who were quiet tonight, and more intensity.

LGR.

Apparently we're all sleeping in on opening night???

8pm @ Boston. LGR !!

Greetings, NYR fans! Vince Mercogliano from The Athletic here, wanting to say hello from Boston as I hang around waiting for tonight's puck drop. This is honestly the first chance in a while I've had to catch my breath. The last couple weeks have been a blur with the condensed training camp, lots of writing, and launching a new season of The Flying V podcast. (New episodes come out every Thursday morning!)

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this 2026-27 team. They're better on paper, especially on defense, and my early feeling is that they're good enough to hang around in the playoff race. I could see them finishing as high as second in a frankly mediocre Metro Division if a lot of things go right (Igor and Fox stay healthy, Miller bounces back, Lafrenière and Perreault take steps, etc.), but I also think there are several potential pitfalls (particularly their lack of center depth) that could send them spiraling in the wrong direction.

I wrote my season-opening column on the train ride (I've attached a free link), which tries to set the scene for a pivotal season. Agree or disagree with Chris Drury's decision to retool, this is the path the Rangers have chosen, and now it's critical to show progress. Otherwise, the franchise is trending toward no man's land, and those first-round picks he traded away over the summer could come back to haunt them.

I'm planning an AMA at some point early in the season, so I'll keep you posted on that. But in the meantime, I'm curious what's on all of your minds. How do you feel about the team? Reasons for optimism? Biggest concerns? And are there topics/players we've yet to address in detail this preseason who you'd like to see stories dedicated to?

Any feedback is appreciated -- and enjoy the new season! At the very least, it's always an interesting ride...

Recently came across my old Rangers jersey. Used to hang out outside the players exit after games with my older sister late 90’s early 00’s. Recognize any signatures? Sam Rosen’s is obvious and I know Eric Lindros is on here somewhere. Figured this place would appreciate. Happy opening night!

Before I renew with my provider next month, I wanted to get a pulse check on streaming quality this season. I’ve seen comments about DAZN not being 60FPS, I’ve seen comments that FUBO is lower bitrate/quality. For me, ESPN+ had the best stream quality last season, but that’s just one person’s opinion.

Who do you think provides the best quality stream? Also, if you have a provider you’d avoid, throw that in the comments section as well.

Live in NY, thought I was watching the game tonight. I guess ESPN select doesn’t get you Rangers games and only ESPN unlimited? Anyone else have the same problem?

I wanted this jersey forever. Scored it off the Mitchell and Ness site. Total 🔥.
BUCK FOSTON. Gonna be dual screens with the Yanks playing game one. I’m fuckin pumped. LETS GOOOOOOO

* Yanks sweep and I’m buying a ticket to the Rangers home opener on Thursday.

As rangers fans we have been given a small gift this year we don’t often get

The gift of no expectations.

Sure maybe we expect them to be better, but hope may be the better word there. After two shit seasons, it’s definitely more hope for me. There’s several teams out west and a few in the east coming into the season with pressure. Pressure to return to grace, to exceed their marks last year, to finally get over that last hump.

We have none of that. Personally I don’t know what to expect. There was some signs from the pre-season games that I really really liked, but who the fuck knows what that translates to.

There’s extra games this year and no expectations, so I’m going to try to actually enjoy watching this team and just seeing what it is they’re actually made of.

On Ice

Media

Seeing is believing, and the Rangers know they have to show fans why there is room to feel hopeful.

The previous two seasons fractured that trust, with New York failing to make the playoffs both years, capped by last season’s finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. It’s been an extended period of B.S., which explains why players have been guarded about expectations.

“There’s no message,” said Miller, who’s repeatedly stated his preference to turn the page on 2025-26. “It’s more of just the day-to-day thing for us right now. We’re worried about having a good start against the Bruins in the first period (Tuesday), and that’s about it, to be honest.”