Goal gives Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere a confidence boost

Alexis Lafreniere’s goal drought wasn’t as long as Kaapo Kakko’s, but it was just as real a thing to the second-year forward. And as huge as it was for Kakko to score his first goal of the season Sunday in the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout win over the Devils at the Garden, so, too, was it big for Lafreniere to get his first goal in seven games in the second period of the game.

"With those young kids, you worry about [their confidence], definitely,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said after the game. "There’s three or four of them — [Filip] Chytil, K’Andre Miller — those kids are young kids. But you’ve just got to keep playing them. They pay big dividends for us. Big goal by Lafreniere, tonight.’’

Unlike Kakko, Lafreniere had scored this season. In fact, he had three goals — including two game-winners — and an assist in his first eight games. But he’d been called out by Gallant following the Rangers’ 5-1 loss to Calgary on Oct. 25 as needing to do more. And since then, he’d been in a funk, including spending a game on the fourth line Nov. 5 in Edmonton.

So going six games without a point, and with his ice time dwindling, was something that weighed on him.

"For sure you think about it a little bit,’’ Lafreniere said. "As an offensive player, you always want to produce. But if you go out there, practices, games, work hard, I think it's going to come.’’

After jamming in a rebound at 11:24 of the second period, four seconds after a power play expired, to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead, it was back to being all smiles for Lafreniere.

The 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick admitted that at some points he did need to work on his mental state, to try and keep his confidence up despite his long scoreless spell. He said he speaks regularly with the team’s veteran star offensive players — Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin — to ask questions and get advice.

It no doubt helped that Kakko was in a similar situation. The two players are the same age (20) and Kakko was the No. 2 pick overall in 2019, so they face similar pressure from expectations to produce. Lafreniere said they’ve been supportive of each other.

"We’ve been through, kind of the same thing, and he's been great with me,’’ he said of Kakko. "He's a really great guy, and he works hard. So, just to have him with me . . . it's huge for me.’’

Blue notes

The Rangers were off Monday after playing on Saturday and Sunday. There was no update on forward Sammy Blais, who appeared to suffer a serious right knee injury Sunday . . . The team returned C Greg McKegg to AHL Hartford, which indicates Chytil, on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, could be ready to return to the lineup for Tuesday’s home game against Montreal . . . Kreider scored the winning goal in the seventh round of the shootout Sunday, in only his second career shootout attempt, and first in eight years. "To be honest with you, he was hiding on the end of the bench,’’ Gallant joked. "Kreids is great. He’s a confident player right now.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.