Rangers’ Lafrenière Scores Season’s First Goal in 4-0 Win Over Sabres

Alexis Lafrenière scored the first goal of the 2025-26 NHL season for the New York Rangers yesterday evening in Buffalo, propelling his team to a 4-0 victory over the Sabres.

The goal came on a rebound from an Artemi Panarin shot at 11:59 of the first period, with Lafrenière battling through traffic to beat Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon. “It was good to get one early in the game,” Lafrenière said after the win. “Good play. Saw Bread (Panarin) going up ice and just trying to get in front. I got a good bounce, so it was good to get one.” The goal was the 93rd of Lafrenière’s career, tying him with Alex Kovalev for fourth-most by a Ranger before age 24 – a promising sign for the young forward’s continued development.

The Rangers’ strong start was tempered by an upper-body injury to center Vincent Trocheck in the second period, forcing him to leave the game. Coach Mike Sullivan will likely turn to either Juuso Parssinen or Jonny Brodzinski to fill the void, potentially even shifting Mika Zibanejad back to center. For more on the Rangers’ roster moves, see the official NHL Rangers website. The team’s penalty kill also proved effective, going 5-for-5 on the night and maintaining a strong road record, ranking third in the NHL in penalty kill percentage since the 2023-24 season at 82.1 percent, according to NHL statistics.

J.T. Miller continues to lead the team in multi-point games since his return on February 1, 2025, with 13, tied for second-most in the league over that span. The Rangers will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first of their 12 back-to-back sets this season on Saturday.