Rangers Week Ahead: A pit stop at home before heading to Canada

October 18, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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The New York Rangers are glad to be back home, even if it’s just for one game.

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They take a perfect 5-0-0 record at Madison Square Garden into their game against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night. It’s just the third time in the Rangers’ 100 seasons that they’ve won their first five games at MSG – and a huge change from last season, when they didn’t earn their fifth home victory until Dec. 20.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, this week’s schedule mirrors last week’s – one home game followed by two on the road, where they’ve won just once in five games (1-3-1).

The Rangers followed their solid 4-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden this past Tuesday with losses at New Jersey and Columbus. The 7-1 drubbing by the Devils in Newark on Thursday was a complete breakdown in all facets of the game; the 1-0 overtime loss at Columbus on Saturday showed that the work ethic and defensive structure coach Mike Sullivan preaches is still intact.

This week, it’s a two-game swing through Ontario. The Rangers visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

The problem now is offense. On paper, the Rangers’ 28 goals scored in 10 games isn’t horrible. But take away the six empty-netters and you’re down to 22 – or 2.2 goals per game. The penalty kill has been terrific, allowing just two goals in 31 tries – their 93.5 percent kill rate is tied for second in the NHL. But the power play, a strong point on Broadway even during last season’s horror show, is 20.0 percent (6 for 30), while allowing two shorthanded goals.

The OT loss to the Blue Jackets was a good illustration. The Rangers had three power plays in the third period and didn’t score on any of them, then allowed the last 10 shots on goal, including Kent Johnson’s game-winner. When your goalie holds a team scoreless for more than 63 minutes, as Dylan Garand did in Columbus, you expect to come out of the game with two points, not one.

Who’s Hot?

The Rangers scored five goals last week; Alexis Lafreniere had two of them and assisted on another. He leads the Rangers with seven goals and 11 points.

Who’s Not?

Noah Laba’s being praised for his penalty killing, strong defensive commitment, and chemistry with linemates Will Cuylle and Eeli Tolvanen. But he must start contributing offensively. Laba was pointless in three games last week and has just two assists in 10 games. He hasn’t scored a goal since March 14 last season, a span of 21 games.

Rangers lookahead this week includes …

The only visit by the Ducks to the Garden before the first Canadian trip of the season.

Anaheim Ducks at Rangers (Oct. 19, 7 p.m.; MSG)

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The Ducks team that comes to MSG looks little like the one that swept the Rangers last season and ended a 10-game losing streak in New York with a 4-1 win on Dec. 15, 2025. Three ex-Rangers on that team – center Ryan Strome, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Jacob Trouba – are elsewhere, either via trade or free agency.

Anaheim is a perfect 3-0-0 away from Honda Center as it begins a four-game trip that includes visits to all three New York-area teams. Getting away from Southern California could be just what the Ducks need; they’re coming off back-to-back 4-2 losses to the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins that dropped their home record to 1-3-0. Two of Anaheim’s four losses came after the Ducks took early 2-0 leads.

The Rangers are 16-8 with one tie all-time against the Ducks at the Garden.Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller have thrived against the Ducks; Zibanejad has 12 goals, 27 points and is plus-13 in 22 games, while Miller has nine goals and 29 points in 26 games.

New York must shut down Anaheim’s $90 million man, center Leo Carlsson. He has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in five games against the Rangers. Carlsson leads Anaheim with seven assists and nine points this season after the Ducks matched a mega-offer by the Philadelphia Flyers to the restricted free agent during the summer.

Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs (Oct. 22, 7 p.m.; MSG)

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The Blueshirts make their lone visit of the season to Scotiabank Arena, where they lost both games last season. The Rangers are 1-3-1 in their past five meetings with the Maple Leafs; the Original 6 foes don’t see each other again until Toronto comes to the Garden on March 18.

The Maple Leafs (3-4-2 after a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday) are bouncing around NHL .500 despite playing six of their first nine games at home. The big news in Toronto is that Auston Matthews is healthy and productive again, with six goals and 13 points in Toronto’s first nine games. He has 11 goals and 24 points in 26 career games against the Rangers. William Nylander also started hot with five goals and 12 points in nine games.

The first goal by the Maple Leafs will be their 2,000th all-time against the Rangers.

One longtime rival the Rangers won’t have to worry about is John Tavares, who’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury sustained in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Maple Leafs say that designation means he could miss as much as six weeks. Defenseman Chris Tanev is also on IR for Toronto.

Zibanejad has 17 goals and 34 points in 43 career games against the Maple Leafs.

Rangers at Ottawa Senators (Oct. 24, 7 p.m.; MSG/NHL Network)

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It’s the first of two visits to Canadian Tire Centre for the Rangers. They won their only trip to Ottawa last season – 4-2 on Dec. 4. The Senators won both trips to MSG, including a 2-1 win on March 23 that saw Ottawa outshoot the Blueshirts 33-10.

The Sens are off to a hot start, with six wins in their first nine games despite a 3-1 loss to the previously winless Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Linus Ullmark is 6-1-0 and allowed just nine goals in his seven starts. He is 6-3-1 all-time against the Rangers, though his goals-against average (2.83) and save percentage (.899) are nothing special. Ottawa native Claude Giroux has almost a full season’s worth of games against the Rangersin his career; the former Flyers center has 65 points (16 goals, 49 assists) in 76 games.

Zibanejad, acquired by the Rangers from the Senators in July 2016, has enjoyed great success against his old team – he has 10 goals and 25 points in 22 games.

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