Preseason Notes: Rangers at Bruins

The New York Rangers are set to begin their 98th season with the 2023-24 campaign. In the preseason, the Blueshirts will face off against three Eastern Conference opponents twice to fill out their six-game slate.

NEW STAFF

On June 13, Peter Laviolette was hired as the 37th head coach in franchise history. Laviolette has notched a 752-503-25-150 (W-L-T-OTL) record in 1,430 games as head coach between the New York Islanders (2001-02 – 2002-03), Carolina Hurricanes (2003-04 – 2008-09), Philadelphia Flyers (2009-10 – 2013-14), Nashville Predators (2014-15 – 2019-20) and Washington Capitals (2020-21 – 2022-23). He ranks eighth all-time in NHL history in wins, first among US-born head coaches, and 11th all-time in games coached.

Ten days later, Laviolette filled out his staff with the coaching staff additions of Phil Housley as Associate Head Coach, and Dan Muse and Michael Peca as Assistant Coaches.

Housley comes to the organization with over 20 years of coaching experience at multiple levels in hockey. Most recently he was an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes from 2019-2022. Housley previously served as the head coach for the Buffalo Sabres from 2017-2019 and was an assistant coach under Peter Laviolette in Nashville for four seasons (2013-2017).

Muse most recently served as the head coach of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program for the past three seasons in addition to guiding the U-18 team to multiple World Championships. Prior to joining the national program, Muse served as an assistant coach under Laviolette in Nashville for three seasons.

Peca spent the last two seasons with the Rochester Americans of the AHL, serving as an assistant coach. His coaching at the pro level began when he was a member of Laviolette’s staff in 2020-21 with the Capitals where he was a player development coach. Peca skated in over 850 NHL games over 14 seasons between the Canucks, Sabres, Islanders, Oilers, Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets, where he tallied 465 points (176G-289A). He captained the Sabres to a Stanley Cup Final in 1999.

NEW PLAYERS

During the free agency process, the Blueshirts brought in several players, including forwards Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino, and Tyler Pitlick, defenseman Erik Gustafsson and goaltender Jonathan Quick.

Wheeler skated in 72 games for the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23, recording 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points. Wheeler added seven power play goals, the second most of his career, and a career-high tying six game-winning goals. On the Jets, Wheeler ranked tied for fourth in goals, third in assists and fifth in points. Wheeler leaves the Jets as the franchise leader in regular season games played (897), points (812) and assists (550).

Bonino has amassed 158 goals and 195 assists for 353 points in 823 games with the Penguins, Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks. He was a member of the Penguins club that won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017.

Pitlick skated in 61 games for the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23, recording seven goals and nine assists for 16 points. He has amassed 105 points (55G-50A) in 386 career NHL games over nine seasons between the 

Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, and Edmonton Oilers. In 2017-18 with Dallas, he posted career-highs in games played (80), goals (14), assists (13) and points (27).

Gustafsson notched seven goals and 35 assists for 42 points in 70 games and a plus-9 rating in 2022-23, split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals. His goals, assists, points and plus/minus rating ranked second in a single-season over the span of his eight-year career. Gustafsson also skated in two playoff games for the Maple Leafs this past spring, scoring a goal.

Quick has appeared in 753 career games (740 starts) over 16 seasons between the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights, where he has accumulated a 375-277-84 record, a career 2.47 goals against average and .911 save percentage. Among US-born goaltenders, Quick ranks second all-time in wins and fourth in games played. Quick split his 2022-23 season between the Kings and Golden Knights, tallying a 16-15-6 record in 41 games with two shutouts. He won his first four starts with Vegas and finished 5-2-2 with the Stanley Cup-winning club.

SCHEDULE STUFF

The Blueshirts will open their season at Buffalo on Thursday, October 12 followed by a meeting in Columbus against the Blue Jackets on Saturday, October 14. The Rangers will open their home slate at Madison Square Garden against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday, October 16.

New York will play nine games in October, 12 in November, 14 in December, 14 in January, 11 in February, 14 in March, and eight in April. The Rangers will play seven home games in the months of November, December and March.

The Rangers will play seven of their first nine games, as well as 12 of their first 18 contests, on the road. The Blueshirts will close out the season with six of their last eight contests coming at home.

The 2024 Stadium Series matchup against the Islanders at MetLife Stadium is scheduled for Sunday, February 18 at 3:00 PM.

A LOOK BACK AT 2022-23

Last season, New York posted a 47-22-13 record for 107 points during the regular season, ranking tied for eighth in the NHL in wins and ninth in points. The Blueshirts qualified for the playoffs for a second straight season but fell to the New Jersey Devils in the First Round.

At home, the Blueshirts went 23-13-5 and from Dec. 5, they went 19-7-1 on home ice, tied for the fifth most in that span. The Rangers went 15-6-1 in their last 22 home games.

The Rangers finished their regular season road slate with a 24-9- 8 record for 56 points. In franchise history, the Blueshirts’ 56 road points ranked tied for second and 24 wins were tied for the fifth most.

New York allowed 2.63 goals per game, the fourth best mark in the league. The Blueshirts finished the regular season allowing three or fewer goals in 19-straight contests.

The Rangers’ plus-57 goal differential was the sixth best in the NHL while its plus-27 third period goal differential was the fourth best.

Seven Rangers (Fox, Goodrow, Kakko, Panarin, Trocheck, Trouba, Zibanejad) finished the season having played in all 82 games. It marked the third time since 1958-59 and second since 2011-12 that the Blueshirts have had seven or more players play in every regular season game.

The Rangers finished with a 24.1 power play percentage, the fifth highest in club history and the seventh highest in the NHL.