Chris Crider will be away for at least a few days. Alexis Lafrenière is the Rangers’ top-line and top power-playing unit. Steve Barrickett and I analyze what this opportunity means for Lafrenière, who has one assist in five games since coming off the bench in Tampa on December 29. bottom.
“He’s not playing well, so it’s probably the worst time for a player,” Barriquet said in the latest episode. The Garden Faithful“And he’s not very confident. I’ve been in this position as a player who doesn’t feel it. Sometimes you lose your cycle when the team is developing you.” All I want is for there to be a time when I’m ready to go…then two weeks go by and I get to the point where I’m not ready.
“What I see from Lafrenière is that he is not confident right now. , he needed to play, but he couldn’t make it and conceded a goal instead, can you imagine how that made him feel?”
Valiquette pointed out that Lafrenière have only created five dangerous scoring chances in their last 16 games. Most infuriatingly, his final 16 games for the Rangers were his best hockey of the season, and he went 12-2-2 in that stretch. But Lafrenière went in the opposite direction.
Gerard Gallant said at practice Wednesday that he wasn’t worried about the 2020 No. 1 pick.
“I keep saying he’s 21,” Gallant said. “He scored 19 goals last year. Sometimes he runs great like he does, but he’s not doing as much as we’d like him to do and he wants to too.He’s fine.I’m worried about the kids. No. A lot of people do, but I don’t.As I said last week in Montreal, I think he’s going to be a good player. I would like to see it more consistently. He has the tools, he has the talent.”
Barriquet said Lafrenière would need something during the stretch, where he is scheduled to play in the high-priced PP1 with Mika Zibanejad.
“I wonder if he has a lot of good experience in the game. Can we count on that enough?” Barrickett said. “He’s had five high-risk chances in his last 16 games. I say it’s okay if a player is taking chances, but when you don’t get scoring chances it’s time to worry, and that’s where he is now.”
Listen to the full episode here: The Garden Faithful
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