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Ranger rookies Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller got their first glimpse of the NHL – and it was sour.
Igor Shesterkin, who is technically a rookie despite having a 12-game regular-season cameo he had last season, would likely say the same about his first opening night start by allowing four goals in the Rangers shutout against the Islanders at Madison Square. Garden on Thursday.
But head coach David Quinn has said he wants his young players to learn from losses like this, it could happen much sooner than he thought.
“It’s a great learning lesson for a young player to play against a team like this,” Quinn said on a Zoom call after a 4-0 loss. “[The Islanders] embody what a pro is at this level. It’s not so much going out and having a good game, it’s playing smart hockey and sometimes you come out of a shift and nothing happens, that’s a good change.
“Unfortunately for us right now, after one night that’s not how we want to approach it, but I think it was a great lesson for these kids.
Miller, who made his NHL debut in the second defensive duo with Jacob Trouba, recorded a shot in just under 14 minutes of ice time. He made a turnaround early in the second period that left Shesterkin dry as Islanders captain Anders Lee converted in a two-on-one run for a 2-0 score.
“Obviously, the National Hockey League is a tough league to win,” Miller said. “So I think this first game is a good example of that, that every game will be a battle. You have to play the full 60 minutes and hopefully succeed on the other side. “
Lafrenière had a similar performance at Miller, with a shot on goal in about 15 and a half minutes of ice time, mostly on the third row with Filip Chytil and Julin Gauthier. In a game where rookie mistakes were made throughout the roster, Lafreniere was no exception when he played the puck while making a change and had the Rangers call too many men on the line. ice penalty towards the end of the first period.
The first overall pick of 2020 committed his second penalty of the night when he was called up for a crash at 14:13 of the second period, which led to a power play goal from Jordan Eberle around 50 seconds plus late.
“Of course, a lot of nerves,” Lafreniere said. “After a few shifts, [I] felt better. Trying to work as hard as possible, obviously difficult first game. But we’ll get better and work on our game and try to bounce back on Saturday. “
The Rangers were 0 for 3 on the power play, but their eight penalties got the Islanders two power play goals.
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