Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere shows off some of that 'untapped potential' coach Mike Sullivan was talking about

Seven years into his NHL career, Alexis Lafreniere walks around the Rangers locker room these days with a lightness to him, like a man without a worry in the world. It’s almost as if he no longer feels all that pressure that’s been on him since the moment he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

He seems to have found peace.

On Monday, for example, Lafreniere was asked about all those semi-breakaways and two-on-ones he had the night before, in the Rangers’ victory over Utah.

“Too many to not score,’’ he said with a playful grin. “Nah, it was good. We got a couple of 3-on-2s, 2-on-1s, some breakaways. We’ve just gotta find a way to bury them, you know? Some of them at least.

“But you know, it’s good to get chances, obviously. It means you’re involved,’’ he said. “Of course I’d like to score a couple there, or at least one. But we’ll keep trying.”

Entering Tuesday night’s game at the Garden against the rival Islanders, Lafreniere had no goals and one assist through the first four games of the season. In the past that limited production to start the season might have frustrated some Ranger fans, but there’s a different feel now. Lafreniere’s strong play following the Olympic break last season makes it feel like a given that he will produce sooner or later.

Turned out it was sooner as he scored a hat trick Tuesday night in the Rangers' 5-2 win over the Islanders at the Garden. Lafrieniere scored empty-net goals 32 seconds apart to complete the hat trick and make it 5-2. He also had an assist.

His assist in Sunday's win came when he took a shot off Mika Zibanejad’s two-on-one pass, and Gabe Perreault scored on the rebound. It was a sign of improving chemistry for the trio, which played so well together last season, but had started a little slowly this season. It gave hope that more of that is on the way.

“Yeah, that was a big goal,’’ Lafreniere said. “Gabe’s been good. I think we’re trying to get our chemistry and play as a line. Last game was good, and we’ll try to keep it going.”

Of course, with Lafreniere, there have always been flashes. They’ve just rarely been sustained. It looked as if he’d finally broken through in 2023-24, when he had 28 goals and 57 points playing with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. But after signing a seven-year, $52.15 million deal in October 2024, he took a step back. So the jury will remain out on how good he can be until he starts producing big numbers, consistently, for a sustained period of time.

Coach Mike Sullivan, though, believes Lafreniere has the potential to be more than he’s been so far.

“I think Laf has untapped potential,’’ Sullivan said. “He has great offensive instincts. He has the ability to beat people one-on-one . . . He sees the ice well. I think he’s added dimension to his game [in] the second half of the season last year. Just being more active in the down low game, and the grind game, getting to the net front, getting inside more.

“I think Laf’s a terrific player,’’ Sullivan said. “I think there’s more there that we’re going to try to pull out of him, because he’s very capable on both sides of the puck.”

Sullivan seemed especially excited to talk now about how much better Lafreniere has defensively. When the coaches put him on the ice in a five-on-six situation at the end of the Utah game after the Mammoth pulled the goalie for an extra skater, Lafreniere blocked a shot, which Sullivan said made him “proud.”

J.T. Miller, who has only been around Lafreniere for a season-and-a-half, after being traded to the Rangers from Vancouver in January 2025, said he’s seen Lafreniere’s game evolve in that time.

“I feel like his game has matured a lot,’’ Miller said. “I think that he plays a more honest style. I think he kind of understands a lot more. He’s at that age where he’s taking a step in understanding what it takes to play at that level all the time. I think his play last year as the season went on proved that. You know, we did a defensive video [in training camp], and he was all over it.”

Which is all great, of course, but it still leaves one wondering, just how good Lafreniere can really be? He was asked if he sets goals that he would share. For instance, after scoring a career-high 28 goals three seasons ago, and 24 last year, is he trying to get 30 this season?

“Not really,’’ he said. “As many as I can get.”

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.