Colin Stephenson: Rangers, Pavel Dorofeyev not worried about his slow start
Rangers right wing Pavel Dorofeyev sets before a face-off against the Vancouver Canucks in the first period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Mike Sullivan tweaked his top two lines Sunday to try and get more five-on-five goals from his top six forward group. And through two games, it has worked, as the top six produced three five-on-five goals in that night’s victory over Vancouver, and two more in Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Lightning at the Garden.
Tuesday’s victory, their second over Tampa Bay at the Garden this season, improved the Rangers’ home record to 5-0. It marks the first time since 1990 that the team has won its first five home games to start a season. The 1990-91 Rangers started 8-0 at home.
But with all the feel good things that have happened for the Rangers in this 6-2 start, there is still the gnawing little fact that Pavel Dorofeyev, the Russian sniper acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in a blockbuster trade on Draft Day in June, has just one goal in the Rangers’ first eight games.
The team’s fast start, and the season-ending injury to goaltender Igor Shesterkin, has made Dorofeyev’s slow start less conspicuous, but it was noticeable when Sullivan dropped Dorofeyev from the top power-play unit in the third period Sunday, saying he thought the 25-year-old was “fighting it a little bit’’ that night.
On Tuesday, Dorofeyev started the game back on the first power-play unit. However, in the second period, Sullivan once again subbed in Gabe Perreault — who had replaced Dorofeyev on the top unit Sunday — for Dorofeyev. Late in the third period, when the Rangers cut down to 10 forwards as they tried to protect a 3-1 lead, Dorofeyev split time on his line with Oliver Bjorkstrand.
“We obviously know and believe that Pav is a pretty good offensive player, with pretty good instincts,” Sullivan said at Tuesday’s morning skate in Westchester. “He’s a big part of this team. He will continue to be a big part of this team moving forward. We’re trying to find a way to help him capture his best game.”
Dorofeyev insisted Tuesday he’s not stressed out about having just one goal so far. “No, not really,’’ he said. “I’m not focused on that stuff at all. Just trying to be myself and trying to help the team win the games. Sometimes, you just have to find another way, and it’s not always the goals, you know?”
Dorofeyev was asked if he perhaps may have been trying too hard in Sunday’s game.
“I’m always trying hard,’’ he said with a smile. “I don’t know if it’s too hard. I’m just trying my best all the time.”
Eight games into an 84-game season is probably too early to be worried about Dorofeyev’s goal total. He had 37 goals with Vegas last year (plus 12 more in the playoffs) and 35 in 2024-25. His 93 goals in 238 career games projects to 32.8 goals over 84 games. Entering Tuesday, he led the Rangers in shots on goal with 21. Odds are, he’ll start scoring soon.
But that doesn’t mean Sullivan has to sit idly and wait for it to happen without trying to speed things up. On Sunday, he moved Dorofeyev from J.T. Miller’s line, where he had been since Day 1 of training camp, to Mika Zibanejad’s line, just to give the team a fresh look.
Sullivan initially kept Zibanejad with Perreault and Lafreniere — who scored twice in the first period Tuesday — at the start of camp because that trio played so well together at the end of last season. So Dorofeyev started out with Miller and fellow newcomer Oliver Bjorkstrand. That line was the Rangers’ best in the first couple of games of the season.
On Sunday, despite the Tye Kartye-Miller-Dorofeyev line having good possession and chance-creation analytics, he tinkered again, swapping Lafreniere and Dorofeyev, in an effort to create actual goals, as opposed to just shot attempts and scoring chances. The adjustment worked, as Kartye scored two goals, the first coming 27 seconds into the game.
If that trio, which can play a grinding, down-low style, appears to have found instant chemistry, the hope is that Dorofeyev will benefit from playing with playmakers in Perreault and Zibanejad, whose six assists entering Tuesday were tied with Adam Fox for the team lead.
“Theoretically, Mika and Gabe are very capable people as far as their ability to get him the puck,’’ Sullivan said. “Pav is — maybe his greatest attribute is his finishing ability. And so I’d like to think that Mika and Gabe would be complementary there.”
It’s all part of the early season experimenting for a roster that has eight new faces from last season. The adjustments are nothing to read too much into or be concerned about.
“It’s just a matter of time, just to build a little chemistry and just trying to get predictable for one another,” Dorofeyev said.
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.
