The New York Rangers are 4-1-0 to start the 2026-27 NHL season, and there's so much to like about the team right now, but it would be disingenuous if we were to ignore some things that aren't working.
The trade of Vincent Trocheck impacted the team's center depth, and ensured that Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller would occupy spots in the top six leaving the third line open for Noah Laba.
So far Laba, an overwhelming success story of the 2025-26 campaign, has had a rough go of it to start his sophomore season.
Underlying metrics flashing warning signs
It is still exceptionally early, but Mike Sullivan’s third unit has spent far too much time chasing the puck in its own end.
While Will Cuylle and Eeli Tolvanen are searching for sustained chemistry of their own, Laba has noticeably been the line’s weakest link at 5v5. Through five games, Laba has logged just over 63 minutes at full strength, posting a bleak underlying profile: a 25.13% Goals For share, a 33.95% Corsi For, and an alarming 27.77% expected-goals share (xGF%).
For context, Laba concluded his rookie season with a respectable 52.98 GF%, 45.88 CF%, and 47.38 xGF% across 852 minutes. He was a player who consistently tilted low-event minutes in New York’s favor; right now, opponents are tilting the ice heavily against him.
Laba recorded an assist in the second game of the season against Tampa, and that remains the only point on his ledger. In addition to that, Laba has just three shots on goal to start his season. He failed to record a shot in the first two games of the season, had two in a 2-0 win against Detroit, one in a 4-2 win against Utah, and he had 0 against the New York Islanders.
Tolvanen has three goals (two empty netters) and six shots to start his season, and the most recent win against the Islanders was the only game to date he's not recorded a shot on goal. Cuylle has been taking a ton of shots, and has 14 thus far while also recording assists in three straight games. The Rangers' fourth-year player had three shots on goal in each of the team's first two games, he had two shots in each of the two games after that, and a season-high four shots on goal against the Islanders.
All of this is to say that Laba certainly appears to be focused on setting up his linemates, and it's not that shocking of a trend. He only attempted 142 shots last season, 73 of them which actually went on net. Nine of those shots entered the net, and he ended the season with 15 points in 24 games. While there isn't a reason to get concerned about his slow start, it is something worth keeping an eye on.
The Cole Beaudoin factor
We've already seen Mike Sullivan swap Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tye Kartye, and one can only wonder if recent callup Cole Beaudoin could eventually get a promotion to the third line if he remains on the roster and logs minutes.
Beaudoin logged 9:57 in his NHL debut, and won six of 11 draws. He was perfect in the offensive zone (3/3), he went 2/4 in the defensive zone, and 1/4 in the neutral zone. He ended the game with a 100 GF%, a 65.77 CF%, and a 55.56 xGF% which is nothing to sneeze at. It is just a one game sample, but given that the Rangers felt comfortable promoting him from Hartford after two games, they just might feel comfortable giving him extra time if he proves that he's earned it.
In any case, Laba still has a ton of time to turn his season around. He projects to be an important player for the Rangers, and this is just his second season in the league. That being said, given what we've already seen with other players, it is a situation I am going to watch pretty closely over the coming weeks.
Add us as a preferred source on Google