Rangers remain undefeated outdoors with win at Winter Classic
The Rangers had to be a hard team to play against on Friday. They had lost three straight games, had been outscored 11-5 in those games and were sinking down the super-tight standings in the Eastern Conference.
“You just make sure that when the puck drops that everyone understands what’s on the line and the impact it could have and how important it was to stop the bleeding,” Sullivan said.
Plus, it was an opportunity to set the tone for 2026.
“It was a fun game for us, but it was a massive game,” Lafreniere said. “It was a big stage, but the two points were massive. Hopefully we can build confidence from this.”
The Rangers weathered a push by the defending Stanley Cup champions to start the third period and didn’t buckle after Sam Reinhart scored 2:20 into the period on the power play to make it 3-1.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves in the game, stopping each of the 15 shots he saw in the second period while the game hung in the balance.
“I think we have one of the elite goalies in the game and he makes timely saves for us, and he makes it look easy,” Sullivan said.
