The Rangers view themselves as a veteran team, and they have acted accordingly.
That is why there was not one declaration about the club’s big-picture success this season from any player following their notable 7-4 win over the Bruins on Saturday afternoon at the Garden. It was just Game No. 19 of 82, in which they came to the rink to do their job and happened to do it well against a reputable opponent.
There was no grand reflection on their NHL-best 15-3-1 record and .816 points percentage.
This team has felt the highs of an impromptu run to the conference final, the lows of an unexpected first-round exit and the burden that comes with starting over season after season in the midst of a championship window.
The truth is, the Stanley Cup isn’t awarded in November.
These Rangers know that and are maintaining the necessary level-headed approach to make it to when it’s actually hoisted in June.
“I think there’s been really good leadership in the room,” head coach Peter Laviolette said when asked if that’s the kind of attitude he wants to see in his locker room. “It starts with Jacob Trouba, who has been an absolute warrior for our team. With regard to him, he played really well [Saturday], but he did that on top of 28 minutes in a really physical game [the day before in Philadelphia]. That’s the captain of your team, setting the tone [Friday] and then backing it up with another great performance.
“I think that that stems through the room to the other leaders and that trickles down to a guy like Will Cuylle, who you saw went to battle [Friday]. I do think that that’s set inside of the room, starts with guys like Trouba, Mika [Zibanejad], [Chris Kreider], [Artemi Panarin], [Vincent Trocheck].”
The Rangers went 4-1 in five games in eight nights to reach the summit of the NHL mountain.
A franchise-record 15 wins through the first 19 games of a season is no small feat, but the real accomplishment is that they’ve done it without two key players in nine of those contests.
Not only have the Rangers been without their No. 1 defenseman, Adam Fox, and their second-line center, Filip Chytil, but this is the first real significant injury blow the team has endured in quite some time.
The impact of losing such important players is one thing, but the shock of having it happen at all could’ve been something entirely different.
Fox is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve and play Wednesday against the Red Wings. It’s unclear if Fox will be ready, but the 2021 Norris Trophy winner has been skating with the team and ramping up his game in preparation.
On the other hand, Chytil has resumed skating for the first time since he was sidelined in the Nov. 2 game against Carolina, which bodes well for the Czech center’s return at some point.
Considering how well the Rangers have been playing, there is no real rush for either skater. That’s a luxury teams don’t always have.
“I’m not surprised,” Laviolette said. “When adversity hits, there’s always two roads you can go down. You can take this way or this way here. We haven’t talked about the injuries. We haven’t talked about this herculean effort. The guys are really just focused on the game and how they have to go about their business, what it is that we have to do to make us successful. I think our guys have done a really good job of that, just focusing on what we do have and what we need to do to be successful.
“Certainly would like to have those players back because they’re important to our team, but that happens to all teams throughout the league. At some point, you get whacked with an injury and sometimes it can be significant injuries.
“You’re going to have to have time without those players and it’s always good to see how your team responds and I think we’ve handled it really well.”