00:02I mean, let's start with Alexi Lafreniere.
00:05Yeah.
00:08What's standing out to you there?
00:0913 points, eight goals, five assists in his last nine games,
00:13hat trick in the 4-0 win over the Flames?
00:17How they play.
00:19You know, how they play.
00:21Like, back to that third line.
00:22The third line played that Philly game.
00:23They were very well connected.
00:25You know, there was, you know, someone would go in on a four check,
00:28another guy would replace, but not too far away.
00:30They were connected.
00:31Once they had possession, they spread it out, you know,
00:33as a group of five, and it would attack the net downhill.
00:37And that's what this top line has been able to do really well.
00:40And I think it's helped Mika, it's helped Perrault,
00:43and it's helped Lafreniere because they're very well connected.
00:47They're starting to build a chemistry where we've seen some highlight reel
00:50plays and some Harlem Globetrotter type stuff where it's, like,
00:54just tons of fun to watch.
00:56But, look, you know, top five winger in the last decade in the NHL,
01:02a tremendous player.
01:04Everyone knows how important Artemi Panarin was to the New York Rangers.
01:09This line works better, and it helps Lafreniere much more.
01:14There's times where, you know, if it's going to be Lafreniere playing with a
01:20Panarin or something like that, it's not always going to work because you need
01:24that next wave of guy to go in.
01:26One four-checker goes in, the first guy, right?
01:28And then if the puck's moved, the next four-checker has to go in.
01:32And without the puck, they just had trouble getting it back.
01:36Panarin's so creative.
01:37He's so unique as a player.
01:39There'd be times where there'd be a battle, and he'd go off to the other side
01:41on the boards waiting for you to spread it out to him.
01:44But unfortunately…
01:45He's such a basket hanger.
01:47That's what I used to call Artemi.
01:48Well, they couldn't figure out a way to get it to him sometimes,
01:51and plays with Dye.
01:52Yeah, yeah.
01:53Maybe he's thinking the game in a way higher IQ.
01:56I'm not criticizing Panarin at all, but I'm just saying…
01:59Yeah, no, it's a different style.
02:01Yeah.
02:01Yeah.
02:01The fit wasn't there, and this is helpful.
02:06This is…
02:07Yeah.
02:07You want to play in straight lines.
02:08The coach is preaching straight lines.
02:10You also want to let one guy who's a superstar do superstar things.
02:14If it's not working, you know, you've got to be in the middle somewhere.
02:17Now they have a ton of talent, and we've seen flashes.
02:21We've seen the 20…
02:22What was it?
02:22The 28-goal season from Lafreniere?
02:25Mm-hmm.
02:25The playoff run he had where he's near a point in game.
02:27That was two years ago.
02:28I was a younger kid.
02:29Yep.
02:30So, you just hope the consistency's there.
02:33Like, we saw him on the ice, first on the ice, in the morning skate.
02:36Yes.
02:37Yep.
02:38Sometimes optics matter.
02:39Whether or not that's going to change your whole season, even to yourself.
02:43Like, I'm out here early.
02:44I'm getting touches.
02:45Yep.
02:47No, 100%.
02:48I mean, I…
02:49Yeah, I wrote about it, obviously, that day, because it was…
02:53Honestly, to us, it was news.
02:55Like, because…
02:56Right.
02:57Like, to put it as bluntly as possible, like, it was.
03:01I mean, and I said this.
03:02That's not to say he's never done it.
03:04Like, yeah, he's been here for six years.
03:06He's definitely touched the ice first at one point or another.
03:09But it wasn't exactly a sight that's been synonymous with his six years in New York.
03:14It is not something that we've seen all too often from him, him putting in the extra work before or
03:21after practice, whatever it may be.
03:22So, it was exciting to see that because it was a little bit different for him.
03:26And I feel like he's been playing well since Artemi was sat out for roster management purposes.
03:32I feel like there's a lot less deferral in his game, too, which Mike Sullivan was, I think, the way
03:40that he phrased it was, he kind of knows that he's the guy now.
03:44You know, that he's the guy that people are looking at now.
03:47And that kind of changes your mentality.
03:49When you've got a guy like Artemi on your line, you kind of think probably subconsciously, I have to get
03:55the puck in this guy's hands because he's the best player on the ice on any given night.
03:59But now that it's kind of the onus is on him, he's keeping the puck on his stick a lot
04:05more.
04:05I feel like he's, like, evaluating the play in front of him a lot more, his different options.
04:10So, I think that it's, you know, like you said, obviously, Artemi was so important to this group.
04:18But sometimes something as simple as that, as a dynamic change, can do wonders for a player.
04:24So, I think that's been a – but, you know, granted, we've seen this before.
04:29It's been fleeting before.
04:31Every other time it's been fleeting.
04:33So, you know, you want to see him do it consistently and you want to see him go on a
04:38little bit of a run here and take some responsibility.
04:41Well, yeah, but look at, like, that third line, the kid line that they had.
04:45They kept them together.
04:46There was some continuity there.
04:47And you want to be predictable to your line mates so you can be unpredictable to the opponent because that's
04:53when the chemistry starts.
04:55It's – they were more of a straight line, third line when he was there and having some success.
04:59They went in straight lines.
05:02And now he's – if he gets to stay on that top power play, I think then you're going to
05:06see the stats go up.
05:07You're going to get assists, you know, that just happen to happen because you're touching the puck.
05:13And so much more in general.
05:15Well, yeah, and then you get to touch the puck.
05:16You're better five on five.
05:17All these things tend to happen.
05:20And when you have that predictability and then you can have continuity too because, like, yeah, these were beautiful goals.
05:26They were tic-tac-toe.
05:27But a lot of it was, like, they were getting chances because they were just going straight and winning battles,
05:33getting the puck to the other end, and then working from there.
05:36So it's – I mean, I think it can be sustainable.
05:39The other thing I think he needs to understand is he has to now become a part of that leadership
05:43group.
05:44Whether he's told he is or he isn't, put some responsibility on yourself that you've been here a long time
05:50now.
05:50Six years.
05:51It's not a short time.
05:52I, like –
05:53No, it is true.
05:55We'd love to have been in one place for six years.
05:57Yeah.
05:57And, you know, first overall pick, and you're signed long-term.
06:01Time for you to be a leader too.
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