TORONTO — It had been 12 games since Alexis Lafreniere scored a goal entering Tuesday night’s matchup with the Maple Leafs.
When Peter Laviolette was asked about it, however, the Rangers’ head coach expressed not only his satisfaction with Lafreniere, but also his faith in the former first-overall pick.
“He’s been playing great, too,” Laviolette said in the morning before the Rangers defeated the Maple Leafs, 5-2, at Scotiabank Arena. “There’s always some ups and downs inside of the year and then I think you have to look at the game itself. That line is still really productive and for me, a really good line.
“I think Laf’s working hard. I really believe in him and the way he plays the game right now. I believe in that line. They’ve done good things consistently the entire year to this point. For me, it’s just a matter of time. He’s just got to keep doing the right things inside of that line, playing with speed, attacking the net.
“They’ve been really effective for us and he’s been really effective for us. I don’t put too much stock into it, that line is still real productive for me.”
Lafreniere went on to score a crucial power-play goal at the 9:50 mark of the second period, which gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.
It marked his first score since Nov. 22 in Pittsburgh and just his second power-play goal of the season.
Game after game the chances came for Lafreniere.
The 22-year-old was either robbed by an opposing goaltender or just missed the mark.
So it only made sense that his goal drought ended on a fluky goal that went in off a Leafs player.
“It was a shot, but pretty lucky goal,” said Lafreniere, who now has nine goals and eight assists in 30 games this season.
Going 2-for-2 on the power play Tuesday night, the Rangers have scored a goal with the man-advantage in five straight games and 10 of their last 12.
It marked the sixth time this season the club scored multiple power-play goals in a game.
The Rangers are off Wednesday before they return to practice on Thursday.
They will then welcome ex-Wolf Pack coach Kris Knoblauch and the Oilers to the Garden on Friday for the first of another back-to-back set.
The Sabres are in town on Saturday.