Early Standout Performances: Which Rangers Players Are Making Case For The All-Star Game?

The New York Rangers have gotten off to an ideal start through the first two weeks of the NHL season, winning six of the first nine games. The Blueshirts sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 13 points. While the traditional All-Star Week will not occur this year in place of the 4 Nations Faceoff, one cannot help but wonder which players would make a good case for All-Star team selections.

Here's three Blue Line Station definitely thinks will top the list:

1. Artemi Panarin

With the exclusion of Russia from the tournament, we will unfortunately not be able to see Artemi Panarin display his many talents in the 4 Nations Faceoff. Panarin is coming off a season in which he posted 49 goals and 120 points. He has already accumulated six goals and 15 points through the season's first nine games. If the traditional All-Star Game format were in play this year, Panarin would undoubtedly be the pick to represent the Rangers.

2. Adam Fox

The former Vezina Trophy winner is no stranger to representing the Rangers during All-Star week, as he was selected during the 2020-21 season. Fox is constantly in the top five in offensive statistics among defensemen. Fox has so far logged eight points in his first nine games. While he is still searching for his first goal of the season, all Broadway faithful should expect the 26-year-old blue-liner to finish close to his career-high in goals (17).

3. Alexis Lafreniere

The 23-year-old forward has really taken off to start his 2024-25 season. Alexis Lafreniere has scored four goals and 4 points in the first few weeks of the new season. The 2020 first-overall pick is coming off a previous season in which he scored 28 goals, and his current pace suggests that he will surpass that mark this season. Looking past the stats and evaluating Lafreniere solely on the eye test, one will see that this is a maturing year for Lafreniere and that he could finally live up to his high draft-pick potential. Blueshirt fans should not be surprised if they see the winger in the 4 Nations Faceoff in February.