Rangers rookies Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller got their first taste of the NHL – and it was sour.
Igor Shesterkin, who is technically a rookie despite the 12-game regular-season cameo he had last season, would likely say the same about his first opening night as he conceded four goals in the Rangers’ loss to the Islanders at Madison Square . Garden on Thursday.
But head coach David Quinn said he wants his young players to learn from losses like this, it could just come a lot sooner than he thought.
“It’s a great lesson for a young player to play against such a team,” Quinn said during a Zoom call after a 4-0 defeat. “[The Islanders] embody what a professional is at this level. It’s not so much going out and playing great, it’s smart playing hockey and sometimes you come out of a shift and nothing happens, that’s a good shift.
“Unfortunately for us now, after one night, that’s not how we want to go about it, but I think it was a great lesson for those young guys.”
Miller, who made his NHL debut in the second defensive game with Jacob Trouba, took one shot in just under 14 minutes of ice age. He made a turnover at the start of the second period, leaving Shesterkin too dry when Islanders captain Anders Lee converted for a 2-0 score after a two-for-one rush.
“Obviously, the National Hockey League is a tough competition to win,” Miller said. “So I think only this first game is a good example of that, that every game becomes a battle. You have to play the full 60 minutes and hopefully end up on the other side. “
Lafreniere had a similar performance to Miller, with one shot on target in about 15½ minutes of ice time, mainly on the third line with Filip Chytil and Julin Gauthier. In a game that saw rookie errors throughout the lineup, Lafreniere was no exception when he played the puck while making a change and the Rangers got a call towards the end of the first period for too many men in the game. ice penalty.
The first overall pick of 2020 committed his second penalty of the evening when he was called for hooking at 2:13 pm of the second period, which led to a power play goal from Jordan Eberle about 50 seconds later.
“Sure, lots of nerves,” said Lafreniere. After a few shifts, [I] felt better. I try to work as hard as possible, difficult first game of course. But we will get better and we will work on our game and try to come back on Saturday. “
The Rangers went 0-for-3 on the power play, but their eight penalties allowed the Islanders to score two power play goals.