The New York Rangers will look to bring their road record in line with their remarkable success at home when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
A 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday gave the Rangers a 6-0-0 home record to start the season for the first time since 1990-91, when they won their first eight games at Madison Square Garden.
“I do think our guys have a pretty clear understanding of what winning hockey looks like for our team,” coach Mike Sullivan said after the win. “And I think, when you have that understanding as a group, that’s when you’re starting to establish an identity in the true sense of the word.”
With star goaltender Igor Shesterkin sidelined for the season, the Rangers’ continued success may depend on their ability to outscore their problems. They have been in lethal offensive form at home, scoring 15 goals in their last three games there since Shesterkin’s season-ending knee injury.
Things have been much more challenging on the road, where the Rangers are 1-3-1 and have scored just two goals in their last three away games. Spencer Martin and Dylan Garand combined to allow seven goals in last week’s 7-1 loss at New Jersey.
Rookie Garand will likely make his sixth consecutive start after stopping 29 of 31 shots Monday against Anaheim.
“I’ve been asked the question a number of times, what do we expect from Dylan? And my expectation, just based on his body of work here, is that he’s going to win, he’s going to make saves for us, he’s going to make timely saves,” Sullivan said. “He’s given us a chance to win night in and night out, and that’s what we’re asking of him.”
After a three-game losing streak last week, the Maple Leafs have won two straight, including a 6-2 victory Tuesday in Columbus. Former Blue Jackets Jack Roslovic and Kirill Marchenko combined for four points in their return to Columbus.
“I thought he played well. He was dangerous. He was what the Columbus fans have come to see out of him — a dangerous player, and pretty electric,” coach Jim Hiller said of Marchenko, who has impressed since joining Toronto.
Perhaps the most surprising statistic for the Maple Leafs is their league-leading 97.4 percent penalty-kill rate through 11 games. Toronto went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill Tuesday, while Easton Cowan scored a short-handed goal in the second period. Hiller credited new assistant coach John Gruden for the strong start.
“Gruden primarily runs the penalty kill. He’s had just a great plan, and the guys have executed it. Always, in the end, there’s going to be a breakdown, and then the goaltender’s got to make the save. It’s the combination of those things,” Hiller said Monday.
Toronto hopes to have defenseman Jake McCabe back, particularly with veteran Chris Tanev still sidelined by an upper-body injury. McCabe left the Columbus game in the first period after taking a stick to the face.
The Maple Leafs have won four of their last five meetings with the Rangers.