Early signs show Rangers checking all the right boxes ahead of Detroit test

Igor Shesterkin is rightfully soaking up praise across the hockey world for his historic empty-net goal on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Scoring a goal is a feat he has literally been shooting for since arriving on Broadway. But lost in the viral celebration is an even more important reality: he has looked virtually unbeatable in his primary duties of "tending the goal."

The Rangers dropped their season opener in Boston after surrendering three goals in a bizarre 75-second span, but that third-period lapse was hardly the fault of their franchise netminder. Shesterkin was under even greater duress during Thursday's home opener at Madison Square Garden, turning aside 29 shots in a 5-1 rout. The evening provided a vivid snapshot of what this team is capable of when everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Through two games of action, Shesterkin is second in the NHL with a 2.61 GSAA (goals saved above average) and first with a 3.56 GSAx (goals saved above expected) via Evolving-Hockey. It's only been two games, but it just underscores how good the Rangers can be when Shesterkin is looking like the elite all-world goalie fans know he can be.

Checking off the household chore list

If you were to draft a pre-season checklist of everything that needs to go right for the Rangers to return to contention, Thursday’s game earned a sea of checkmarks.

Growing up, many of us had reward charts on the kitchen wall with tasks such as clean your room, do your homework, help with chores, and you earned a reward at the end of the week. Applying that logic to the 2026-27 Blueshirts, the corresponding checklist requires vintage performances from Shesterkin, Adam Fox, and Mika Zibanejad, while getting tangible, secondary production from everyone else down the lineup.

I want to stress this strongly, and I think everyone realizes this too, but the Rangers have only played two games thus far. They play a third this evening on the road against Detroit before returning home for another game against the Utah Mammoth on Sunday. It also should be said that the shortened preseason has resulted in some interesting hockey around the league, here's me looking at Edmonton and Vancouver, but that shouldn't at all take away from the start certain players have had.

Pavel Dorofeyev scored his first goal as a Ranger on Thursday and also picked up an assist on Mika Zibanejad's goal after the Rangers' power-play king fired home the rebound off No. 16's initial blast. The Rangers had to kill off seven penalties, and a result of that was Dorofeyev playing just 13:44 in the game.

The aforementioned Zibanejad also picked up an assist in addition to his goal, and logged 18:53 in the win. We just mentioned Dorofeyev as a newcomer, but a pair of former teammates have also acclimated quite well to the Rangers' roster. Eeli Tolvanen was a late signing, and he picked up his first goal as a Blueshirt on Thursday.

Oliver Bjorkstrand was his running mate in Seattle, and he got the best of Tampa (where he spent 2025-26) winning a puck battle to feed Dorofeyev for a 2-0 lead. Through 26 minutes of play at 5v5, Bjorkstrand has a perfect GF%, a 58.4 CF%, and a 69.69 xGF% courtesy of Evolving-Hockey. It's an extremely small sample, but very nice to see nonetheless.

Gabe Perreault could have been signed to an extension prior to the season, but the Rangers opted not to do so. He scored his first goal of the season against the Lightning, and it was off a beautiful deflection orchestrated by Adam Fox who had two helpers on the evening.

Fox is off to a fine start to the season, and his assist came at a time in which he briefly shared the ice with rookie Alberts Smits.
Smits did not get rewarded with a point, but his intelligence was on full display in the sequence which directly preceded the goal.

The back-to-back trap in Detroit

I said it earlier, but I am going to repeat for the point of emphasis... it has only been two games for the Rangers. A condensed preseason has triggered sloppy hockey across the league, but that shouldn't take away from the habits New York established on Thursday.

The immediate challenge arrives tonight at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Playing the second half of a back-to-back on the road is always taxing, and the Rangers will skate directly into the Red Wings' home opener. This is the third home opener the Rangers are taking part in, and Detroit's crowd will bring plenty of juice, even as the Red Wings navigate internal chaos with recently stripped captain Dylan Larkin sidelined as they try and figure out his future and defenseman Simon Edvinsson embroiled in a contract dispute and currently skating in Sweden.

Coming off an emotional high at The Garden on Thursday, tonight will test New York's maturity. If Mike Sullivan’s squad can match Detroit’s early home-ice energy and continue getting contributions across all four lines, the Rangers can keep filling out that checklist and build serious early-season momentum.

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