His sweater has changed, but his scoring talent has not.
The Rangers will see a familiar No. 91 Saturday night when they face John Tavares and the Maple Leafs for the first time this season. The former Islanders captain is no stranger to the Blueshirts, having gutted them for 14 goals and 24 assists in 43 games during his time in the rivalry.
“I think he looks pretty much the same,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “Really good player, surrounded by some really good players, and obviously that makes him even more dangerous.”
Tavares’ 23 goals in 35 games this season lead a potent Toronto offense and had him tied for third in the NHL. The center has plenty of help on his new team, with linemate Mitch Marner racking up 37 assists and the dangerous Auston Matthews centering the next line.
“They probably have a few special — looking at the forwards, probably the most skilled group in the league, maybe,” said Lundqvist, who will split the weekend back-to-back with Alex Georgiev. “They move the puck well and [play] high-speed hockey.Puck management will be key.”
Kevin Hayes practiced for the first time since taking an hard tumble into the boards last Friday against the Coyotes. He has not missed a game since — instead posting multi-point games in four of his last five — but had been taking maintenance days during practice before Friday.
“You got to listen to your body and go from there,” Hayes said.
Coach David Quinn said he has mostly liked how the Rangers have competed against the NHL’s top teams — if not the results. They led the Jets 3-0 before falling in a shootout and hung with the Lightning until late earlier this month.
“We’ve played pretty well against good teams,” Quinn said. “If we can play the way we did against Tampa and stay out of the box and not have that big discrepancy in power plays and penalty kill, then we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”
The Rangers spent most of Friday’s practice working on their power play. They broke out of their recent skid on the man advantage last week against the Coyotes, converting on three of their seven chances, but Quinn wants to see a better pace instead of getting caught up in the structure.
“Our intensity level has to pick up a little bit on the power play,” Quinn said. “A lot of times, players get caught up in where to go — ‘You go here, I’ll go there’ — but you got to play hockey within the power play.”
Jesper Fast also practiced for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury last Friday, which the Rangers said would be a two-to-four week recovery. He skated in a non-contact jersey.