Three Takeaways from Rangers' First Two Games of 2024-25 Season – Hockey Writers – New York Rangers

The New York Rangers opened the season with a big 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road and it couldn't have been a better start to the season. However, they would go on to lose their home opener to the Utah Hockey Club in overtime by a final score of 6-5. Both games showed how dangerous this team can be even when there are still mistakes in their game. Here are three takeaways from Rangers' opening games of the 2024-25 season.

The Tale of Two Different Igor Shesterkins

The day before the Rangers started their season, it was reported that Igor Shesterkin turned down an eight-year/$88 million deal that would have given him $11 million per season and made him the highest-paid goaltender in NHL history. Many criticized him and asked why he did not take this deal. However, it is clear that he wants more money and a good start to the season. He stopped 31 shots he faced and recorded his first shutout of the season against the Penguins. It was the first time the Rangers had shut out an opponent in a season opener since 1956.

Many thought he could build on this good start and carry it into the next game. However, this did not happen and Shesterkin had a very poor performance against Utah. He allowed six goals on 26 shots and had a .769 save percentage (SV%). He now has a 2.90 goals against average and .895 SV% to start the season. Although he didn't get much help defensively in that game, Shesterkin also needs to be better than he was. If he wants to prove he's worth more than $11 million, he needs to play like Shesterkin, who was shut out in points in his first game, not the one who allowed six goals on 26 shots.

Mika Zibanejad's Bad Start to the Season

One of the players in the Rangers who can really prove this season is Mika Zibanejad. He is coming off a season in which he saw his offensive play decline and his season ended without a goal in the Rangers' final 10 playoff games. He needs to play better if the Rangers want to win the Stanley Cup and so far this season, he hasn't looked any better than last season. He has zero points so far and hasn't been a factor or an offensive threat when he's been on the ice.

Related: Shesterkin Gives Rangers Shot at Cup, But It Will Cost Them

His performance against Utah was very disappointing and he needs to play better than he did in this game. Zibanejad had a plus/minus of minus-4 and was on top of the overtime goal where he left Clayton Keller alone in front of the net. If he's not going to be a scoring threat, he at least needs to remain a defensive player and this game wasn't good for Zibanejad in either of those ways. He will have to get stronger as the season goes on if he wants to prove the doubters wrong.

Five Points Out of Five It's Been the Same So Far

One of the biggest concerns for the Rangers over the past few seasons has been their five-in-five goalless streak. They relied too much on their power play to score their goals and while that worked to some extent, they needed to be a better team at power play. So far this season, they have scored 11 goals and nine of them were even strength. They got off to a good start against the Penguins with each forward getting a goal. It started with Sam Carrick and the fourth line and Alexis Lafreniere followed with a goal from the second line. After that, Chris Kreider scored his first of two goals in the game and Filip Chytil scored his first goal since the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Rangers have had consistent goals from all four of their lines so far at even strength. If this continues to happen and they can start producing again on their power play, they will be one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the NHL this season and this could be the factor that will push them over the edge in their quest. for the Stanley Cup.

Although they have only played two games this season, the Rangers have seen the good and the bad. They need their best players to start playing consistently and they will need to continue this offensive production at five-on-five. If they can deal with their issues and continue to build on the positives, this could be another great season for the Rangers.