Alexis Lafreniere’s shift report from Madison Square Garden had three goals, one assist and a late-game assignment that mattered just as much as the hat trick. The Rangers winger helped New York beat the Islanders 5-2 on Tuesday, finishing plus-4 in 18:54 as the club pushed its winning streak to four games.
- Lafreniere recorded the third hat trick of his NHL career and added an assist. He has three goals this season.
- Two of his goals came into an empty Islanders net 32 seconds apart in the third period. His final shift lasted 1:12.
- Coach Mike Sullivan used Lafreniere in the Rangers’ 5-on-6 defensive unit while protecting a one-goal edge before the empty-net scoring arrived.
- New York improved to 4-1-0. The Rangers have won four straight since opening the season with a 3-0 loss in Boston on Sept. 29.
- The Rangers held a 12-5 shots advantage in the third period and kept the Islanders from generating much while defending the lead.
- Lafreniere opened the scoring for his night 25 seconds into the second period, taking a pass from Mika Zibanejad and beating Semyon Varlamov with a wrist shot over the glove for a 2-0 lead.
- He has started the season alongside Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, with the line finding early traction.
- Lafreniere turns 25 on Oct. 11. He is in Year 2 of the seven-year, $52.15 million contract he signed on Oct. 25, 2024, carrying a $7.45 million annual cap hit.
For Lafreniere, the summer target was simple: win the Stanley Cup. Individual totals were not part of the plan after the Rangers finished last in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and missed the playoffs for a second straight year.
“I don’t have any numbers or anything,” Lafreniere said. “I’m trying to keep getting better, working on my game at both ends, and becoming a more complete player.”
That is the area Sullivan has pressed since last season’s Olympic break. Lafreniere posted 25 points, including 12 goals, over his final 25 games after the 2026 Winter Olympics, carrying a plus-8 rating over that stretch. His six net-front deflection goals after the break led the League, a marker of a player spending more time in hard areas rather than relying only on rush chances.
Sullivan said the winger’s day-to-day approach has become more mature. The coaching staff wants Lafreniere to remain dangerous off the rush while building a more dependable low-zone game when opponents deny space through the neutral zone.
“He’s a highly skilled player,” Sullivan said. “He can make things happen in transition. The challenge was: when the rush is taken away, what comes next? Can he create from the grind below the goal line?”
The coach pointed to Lafreniere’s strength on pucks despite his lean frame, and his willingness to play around the crease. The empty-net chances Tuesday were not merely a reward for scoring touch. Sullivan viewed them as the payoff for earning defensive trust.
“Using him 5-on-6 is a responsibility and a privilege,” Sullivan said. “We believe he can handle those situations. We’re asking him to have more awareness away from the puck and to be sound positionally in his own zone.”
Lafreniere welcomed the late-game work. “You want to be on the ice at the end whether you’re trailing, leading or tied,” he said. “I think we’re doing a good job playing with leads. In the third, we really didn’t give them much.”
The 2020 first overall pick has 119 goals and 136 assists for 255 points in 467 NHL games. He matched his career high of 57 points last season, the same total he produced in 2023-24, when the Rangers reached the Eastern Conference Final. He scored eight goals and added six assists in 16 playoff games during that run before New York lost to Florida in six games.
Zibanejad sees further room for growth. “I don’t think he has reached his ceiling,” he said. “The skill has always been obvious. The maturity, the buy-in and the way he’s playing every game are the next parts of his development.”
Lafreniere’s own scoreboard remains team-first. A personal best could follow if his two-way game keeps growing, but he wants the Rangers playing after the April 10 regular-season finale.
“I hope we are,” Lafreniere said. “But I’m not focused on totals. I want to play well and be the best two-way player I can be.”
