Alexis Lafreniere picked a timely moment to break his goal-scoring drought.
Lafreniere had not scored in eight games and had largely been quiet during the team’s four-game losing skid before the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Capitals on Sunday, a day after falling to the Capitals 3-2.
But Lafreniere buried his own rebound in the final minute of the first period Sunday, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead and some needed breathing room.
“Pretty good,” Lafreniere said after the game. “We had a tougher stretch the past couple of games. It was good to get a win, big two points and hopefully keep it going.
“Getting back to winning, getting points is good, it was a good game for us.”
Lafreniere, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, had a poor minus-5 on the ice during the four-game skid.
He had two assists in the Rangers’ Jan. 8 loss to the Canucks, but did not have any other points during the slide.
He had a plus-2 on the ice in Sunday’s win.
Lafreniere saw his ice time slashed. He played just 14:47 on Sunday, but was energetic and lively after a team-wide sluggish showing a day before.
During the four-game skid, Lafreniere averaged 20:16 on the ice, and for the season averages a career-high 17:18.
Perhaps the shorter workload Sunday helped keep Lafreniere fresher, leading to a bigger impact.
“Played a little more defense, I thought,” Lafreniere said. “It was good.”
Lafreniere now has 11 goals and 15 assists on the season.
But eight of those goals came in the first 17 games of the season, and he has just three goals in his last 25 games.
He was a woeful minus-eight during that 25-game stretch, compared to a plus-one in those first 17 games.
Getting Lafreniere back on track could help the Rangers deliver more of the consistent dominance they showed earlier in the season, a quality which has gone missing in recent weeks.
He had a team-high five shots on goal Sunday, something which has become familiar for Lafreniere.
He’s continued to have a high shot output throughout his scoring drought, but on Sunday he cashed in.
Lafreniere makes up one piece of the Rangers’ dominant second line along with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck.
That line was responsible for both goals Sunday, as Panarin scored earlier in the first period.
“I think they really work hard for each other, especially when they’re on the attack and when they’re in the offensive zone,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game. “I think there’s a chemistry there between the three of them. Knowing where they make little plays, they make small-area plays, they’re all talented and skilled, and yet a little bit different. They’re a dangerous line, they’re probably one of the most dangerous in the NHL with regard to creating.”
Lafreniere and his linemates, as usual, led the way in terms of shot creation Sunday, outshooting the Capitals 8-2 during 9:06 on the ice together.
Lafreniere played a big part in it.
“[On Saturday] I don’t think we generated as much as we would’ve liked,” Laviolette said. “Tonight I thought we had a lot of good looks, a lot of good chances. … We pressed offensively and defended hard when we had to.”
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