New York Rangers: Reflecting on a magical opening night

Being let down in life is as certain as death and taxes and there was potential for this to be the case on Thursday night but, boy, did the New York Rangers deliver on opening night.

After producing a blockbuster off-season – arguably the most significant summer in the recent history of this storied franchise – the New York Rangers entered the 2019-20 NHL regular season opener with high expectations and even loftier hopes.

And, although it wasn’t always pretty at times, they produced. Heck, they hit an absolute humdinger of a home run out of the ballpark.

Even Lias Andersson‘s less than graceful introduction to the Madison Square Garden faithful didn’t turn out to be an ominous sign of what was to come, instead providing some light relief on a night that offered a tantalizing glimpse into what looks to be a bright future.

It was a night that began with a bucketload of tangible excitement as fans flocked to the mecca of the entertainment world to snap up their Kaapo Kakko jerseys and get a first glimpse of a new and improved Rangers team.

With MSG pumped up following an opening night ceremony that hammered home the fact our beloved team really did go out and lure Artemi Panarin to The Big Apple in free agency, it was time for the action to begin.

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For all of the talk about new faces and the influx of youthful talent on this roster, it was a member of the old guard that drew first blood in 2019-20 with veteran defenseman Marc Staal rolling back the years with a sublime wraparound goal, proving that maybe there is life in the old dog yet.

But these were the big, bad Winnipeg Jets the Rangers were playing and one of this year’s contenders quickly made it clear that they were not going to just lie down and let the Blueshirts have their day in the sun.

Instead, they used their treasure chest of big hitters to deliver a gruelling left hook immediately, and they would keep dragging themselves back off the canvas and forcing the Rangers back into the corner.

Henrik Lundqvist, revitalized after seeing the front office commit to bringing the glory days back to Broadway, stood on his head at times in order to bail out his younger colleagues and he was vintage Henrik Lundqvist, even if he was at fault for the Jets’ third goal after thinking Blake Wheeler was going for the pass option.

Give credit to these Rangers, though. They aren’t your father’s New York Rangers anymore, they are bold, brash and, more importantly, fearless and they didn’t let frustration settle in after the Jets twice tied the score straight from the faceoff.

And the crowd had no chance to get frustrated either due to the spectacle that was being played out in-front of them.

After months of hype, talk and rehashing the monster moves made by this franchise, all the hard work was put into practice on opening night and it was glorious.

Artemi Panarin came as advertised with a goal and an assist and how good was his power play goal? The Rangers are going to be scary on the man advantage this year and we were given a tantalizing taste of that last night.

The way that first power play unit moved the puck with deadly precision and conviction was like reading perfect poetry, and you got the sense that they had a genuine chance of converting with every planned attack on the Jets goal.

Jacob Trouba looks to be the real deal too and he was an absolute horse on the blueline, contributing two assists and a goal, showcasing his thunderous release and ability to run the play from the point.

He could be the number one defenseman this franchise has been craving.

Adam Fox showed glimpses of his potential and he looked calm on his NHL debut, even playing alongside another raw prospect in Libor Hajek.

Then you have Kaapo Kakko who, despite not getting on the board with a point, did enough to leave Rangers fans salivating at the thought of what the future might look like with this Finnish stud leading it.

He flashed glimpses of skill, he turned on the acceleration, he didn’t look fazed by the magnitude of the occasion and he even got into it with fellow rookie Ville Heinola, the stud defenseman for the Jets.

Kakko combined speed, skill and power which translated to a perfect storm of a cold-blooded rookie who looks built to truly flourish in the modern-day NHL.

It wasn’t all about the shiny new toys, however. Brett Howden, who carved out a superb rookie year in 2018-19, had a quiet night but he showed all the hallmarks of a top player by coming up big when his team needed him most, scrambling home a rebound late in the third period to win the game.

Brendan Smith, who refuses to go away, was again used as a forward on the fourth line and you can’t ever fault the veteran when it comes to his work ethic and his efforts were rewarded with an  empty-netter.

Everything went according to plan for the Rangers and old and new worked together in perfect harmony, resulting in breathtaking spells of pressure in the offensive zone at times and a bucketload of entertaining hockey.

Panarin, Trouba, Kakko and Fox all delivered on their big nights and how can we forget about Mika Zibanejad? The forward was outstanding and was the best player on the ice in my opinion, finishing with four points (one goal, three assists) as his ascension into the upper echelons of elite NHL forwards continues at a rapid pace.

It was fun, it was exhilarating, it left you wanting more and it felt refreshing to see a youthful Rangers team rip the shackles off and slug it out against what will be a playoff team.

Yes, there were mistakes and there is plenty of work to be done on the blueline but, let’s be honest, we always knew there were going to be growing pains and it won’t always be plain sailing this year.

Head Coach David Quinn put it perfectly when he said the performance of his team “certainly wasn’t a Picasso,” but this roster is packed to the brim with raw talent and if they play like they did last night then they will be a much better team this year.

But we were shown on opening night what the new and improved New York Rangers are all about and, playoffs or not, they are going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch in 2019-20 and the long-term future of this historic franchise is worth getting excited about.