RALEIGH, N.C. -- Alexis Lafrenière has noticeably raised his level of play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs enough to start changing the narrative of who he is as a player in the NHL and answer the question of why he was the No. 1 pick in the draft four years ago.
Lafreniere has 10 points in eight postseason games for the New York Rangers, including a team-high four goals in the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Carolina Hurricanes, all in the past three games.
New York leads the best-of-7 series 3-1. Game 5 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
"I think 'Laf' is a pretty cool story, honestly," Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller said. "He came in the League, had a lot of pressure, obviously, on him. He had a lot of people talking about him, in his ear. He's done great. It's hard to talk trash about him. He's been doing great. There's a number of things that he's been doing right that have been able to push us to wins and push us offensively. He's been doing a really good job."
Lafreniere scored his fourth goal against Carolina in a 4-3 loss in Game 4 at PNC Arena on Saturday. He also hit the post on a Grade-A chance he created with patience and a toe drag to the slot in the second period. He had at least three more Grade-A chances and led the Rangers with eight shot attempts in a game he was clearly their best player.
"I thought he could have had four or five goals last night," New York coach Peter Laviolette said Sunday. "He put himself in situations to get to areas where he could make a difference in the game, but he's done that through the course of the year. He's done it with his linemates and there's been that elevation, but now it's the playoffs. We're playing one of the better teams in the League and he's still able to find those opportunities."
Lafreniere said he can feel the confidence he has when skating, when he has the puck, reading off linemates Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, and when he's generating chances the way he did in Game 4.
He also scored off the rush and set up Panarin's overtime goal in Game 3, a 3-2 victory.
He popped in two goals in Game 2, a 4-3 win in double overtime.
He assisted on Panarin's game-winning goal in Game 1, a 4-3 victory.
His four even-strength goals in eight games lead the Rangers. He's tied with Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin for second in goals behind Trocheck's five. Lafreniere's 10 points are third.
"I feel good on the ice right now," he said. "I learned from the past for sure."
Lafreniere was staring the words potential bust in the face after 2022-23, when for the third straight season since being the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft he couldn't elevate into a regular top-six role and failed to top 20 goals or 40 points in a season. His 16 goals were three fewer than he scored in 2021-22. His 39 points were an NHL high for him, but still left a lot to be desired.
His skating was being questioned, as was his ability to be a gamebreaker.
Lafreniere's entry-level contract expired, so the Rangers signed him to a two-year, $4.65 million contract with the hope that a new coach, Laviolette, and the potential for a switch to right wing to get a chance to play in the top six would be enough to tap into his potential.
He had been locked at left wing behind Panarin and Kreider under former coach Gerard Gallant the past two seasons, but he started this season on the right wing with Filip Chytil in the middle and Panarin on the left. He scored four goals in his first 10 games.
Trocheck became the center on the line after Chytil sustained an upper-body injury Nov. 2. That line is still together, never being broken up.
Panarin led the Rangers with 120 points. Trocheck was second with 77. It was Lafreniere who showed the biggest growth, finishing third with 28 goals and sixth with 57 points, both huge jumps from his first three seasons.
"He's playing with Artemi, who has proven to be one of the top players in the League, and 'Troch' is a workhorse in the middle that does an awful lot of things," Laviolette said. "But you can't discount what Laf does as well with his skill level and the way he's grown even throughout the course of this year. I think he just gets more confident as the season grows and now as the playoffs grow."
Lafreniere has put his skill, hockey IQ and confidence on display since the playoffs started. His goal in Game 4, banking the puck in off goalie Frederik Andersen from behind the goal line to make it 3-3 at 2:04 of the third period, was evidence of all three attributes.
"I saw he was not really on his post, so I thought it was a good opportunity for me to try it," Lafreniere said. "It actually worked really well. Sometimes it doesn't bounce that well, but it worked well, and it was fun to get that one."
