When it comes to this team, they are hard to figure out. One thing is for certain. They are the NHL version of the Road Warriors. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the New York Rangers play much better hockey away from Madison Square Garden. On a special Friday night that saw the Original Six rival Detroit Red Wings honor their first dynasty of the 1950s as part of the centennial celebration in Hockey Town, it was all Rangers in a convincing 4-1 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.

Since 2023-24, the Rangers have owned the Red Wings – making it seven straight wins over the Winged Wheel. In fact, dating back to Nov. 5, 2014, they now have points versus the Red Wings in 27 of the last 31 meetings (19-4-8). During the last decade, there were a lot of low scoring games decided by one goal when Henrik Lundqvist went head-to-head with Jimmy Howard. Quite a few went to overtime and sometimes weren’t determined until the shootout.

In a similar theme to last season, Jonathan Quick got the start. In two appearances last year, he only allowed two goals on 68 shots versus Detroit. It was an easy call for head coach Mike Sullivan, who as I predicted, decided to keep Igor Shesterkin fresh for the New York Islanders tomorrow night. We’ll see if they can give Shesterkin enough run support to finally get a win on home ice. They’re 0-5-1 so far.

When they’re away from MSG, good things seem to happen. On a successful Western swing last week, they went 3-1-0. That was highlighted by a come from behind overtime win over the Oilers, which sparked a three-game win streak that included victories over the Canucks and Kraken. Then, they returned home and saw their shadow in a 3-0 shutout loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday.

What is it about being on the road for this team that brings out their best hockey? Maybe it’s as simple as not having to feel the pressure of playing at The Garden. They’ve been shut out four times in six games, only scoring six goals. Five of which came in one game against the Sharks, who prevailed in overtime back on Oct. 23.

With Quick in net, the Rangers played their most complete game of the season. The line adjustments along with the one change to the power play paid dividends for Sullivan. Following a nice pregame ceremony in which the Red Wings welcomed back the families of legends Gordie Howe, Sid Abel, Ted Lindsay, and Alex Delvecchio, the Rangers accomplished something rare by scoring on the power play. This moment should be frozen in time.

On a good play up the ice, Artemi Panarin moved the puck to Mika Zibaejad. He then skated down low before finding a vacated Will Cuylle in front for the game’s first goal at 6:46. It was only their fifth power-play goal of the season. Cuylle had replaced Alexis Lafreniere on the number one unit. He did exactly what Sullivan wanted by going to the net and getting his third.

Before the game, Panarin had a new look. A day earlier, he decided to shave his head in an attempt to change his luck. It worked in 2023-24 when he exploded for a career-high 49 goals and 120 points. Why not do it again he figured. If Friday night was any indication, maybe he should keep it buzzed off. He snapped a six-game pointless streak with a secondary assist on Cuylle’s goal. Panarin wasn’t done, either.

The Red Wings drew even when J.T. Compher beat Quick in front on a nice setup from Mason Appleton behind the net. On the play, Braden Schneider made the mistake of vacating the slot to chase the puck. The problem was that Vladislav Gavrikov and Lafreniere were already in the vicinity. That left Compher wide open for an easy finish at 11:06 from Appleton and Andrew Copp. Schneider would later make up for it by saving two goals. One proved critical later in the game.

The Rangers were able to remain tied headed to the locker room thanks to Quick, who made 12 saves in the first period. He was sharp throughout finishing with 32 stops on 33 shots to earn career victory number 407. His best save came on Compher, who was in on a two-on-one. With lots of net to shoot at, Compher tried to pick the top part. However, Quick made a fantastic glove save to deny his bid of putting the Red Wings up.

In the second period, the Rangers went back in front thanks to some excellent teamwork from Panarin and Lafreniere. After failing to capitalize on a man-advantage, Panarin made a good cross-ice feed to Lafreniere at the side of the net. He then got the puck over for an open Noah Laba, who got just enough of it to score his third past former backup Cam Talbot at 4:52. It was pretty special for Laba, who scored in his homecoming.

A little bit later, Quick came way out of his net and got caught by Patrick Kane. The future Hall of Famer had what looked like the tying goal on his stick. But with the net empty, a desperate Quick dove to at least delay Kane from scoring right away. That allowed a hustling Schneider to make the save of the game by getting his stick on the puck to push it just wide. He had some help from Carson Soucy. That was a huge turning point.

Despite outplaying the Red Wings for most of the period, the Rangers remained up by a goal headed to the third. In it, they seized control by getting a pair of goals 58 seconds apart.

Sullivan decided to tweak his lines. He moved Taylor Raddysh up with Panarin and Zibanejad. Cuylle and Lafreniere played with J.T. Miller. Laba worked between Conor Sheary and Jonny Brodzinski. With Adam Edstrom banged up, rookie call-up Jaroslav Chmelar made his NHL debut on the fourth line with Sam Carrick and Juuso Parssinen. The only change he didn’t make was subbing in Connor Mackey for Matthew Robertson, who after starting the game with Schneider, moved up to play with Will Borgen. Every move worked out well.

With the Rangers still nursing a one-goal lead, a rush started by Raddysh led to Zibanejad finding Panarin open for his first goal since Oct. 21 against the Wild. It was an easy finish for Bald Panarin, which gave him three points after going without one over the previous six games. He desperately needed it. So did the team.

On the next shift, Lafreniere scored for the first time since Oct. 9 versus Buffalo. Sheary made a heads-up play by banking a pass off the boards to send Lafreniere in for a breakaway. When he has time and space in open ice, he is pretty good. Lafreniere went to a forehand deke, tucking the puck past Talbot to make it 4-1 with 11:33 left in regulation. He entered the game with only one goal. Despite that, he had three assists in the previous four games. Lafreniere had been getting chances. They hadn’t been going in for him. If ever a player needed a big game, it was Lafreniere, who finished with a goal and assist for his second two-pointer of the season.

If there was some concern in the third prior to Panarin and Lafreniere ending long droughts, it was when Cuylle looked seriously injured after making a diving block of a Simon Edvinsson shot. Cuylle sold out to block the one-timer and immediately went down in a lot of pain. He had to be helped back to the locker room by the Rangers trainer. At the time, he was unable to put any weight on the leg. Of course, he returned. Cuylle was back in time to help the Rangers kill a bench minor a few minutes later. Hockey player.

With the game decided, Chmelar got into his first fight with Travis Hamonic. The bigger and stronger Chmelar easily won the bout, landing a few rights to knock Hamonic down. Playing in front of his family who made the trip from the Czech Republic, he was active. In nine shifts, Chmelar had four hits and a fight over 6:29 of ice time. He certainly didn’t hurt himself in his audition. Whether or not he stays in the lineup this weekend remains to be seen.

There were so many positives in the win. Most notably, the Rangers improved to a beastly 7-1-1 on the road. By defeating the Red Wings 4-1, they’ve now outscored opponents 29-17 on the road. They play with more purpose away from MSG. When are they going to petition the NHL to have the remainder of their schedule played on the road? I’d rather see the Rangers have home games at a neutral site at this point. They once beat the Devils in Halifax on Halloween in 1993. Mike Gartner and Sergei Nemchinov each had a pair of goals. Mike Richter made 23 saves in the 4-1 win.

Sullivan had to be extremely pleased with how together his team looked. Sheary drew two penalties and picked up his fifth assist on the Lafreniere goal. Cuylle scored on the power play and also had another one wiped out due to Miller making contact with Talbot in the crease. It was marginal. Laba was all over the ice again. He makes things happen. The rookie is impressive due to his 200-foot game. There’s a lot to like about Laba.

Both Panarin and Lafreniere had big games. Obviously, they need Panarin to produce to start winning consistently. If he doesn’t, they’ll never be more than a mediocre team. Lafreniere has to play the way he did last night. He was more noticeable during shifts. Having him with Miller and Cuylle is smart. They all play a similar North/South style. That works better for him. He can’t go back to being invisible the next game. That’s not how it works in Year 6.

By recording a goal and assist, Lafreniere went over 200 points for his career. He’s one of the youngest Rangers to do so.

That’s an excellent list made up of great Rangers. You have Brian Leetch at the top headlining it. Of course, Alexei Kovalev is on there. So is Brad Park and Walt Tkaczuk.

Now, it’s back to MSG later tonight. The Rangers get their first look at 2025 top pick Matthew Schaefer. He’s quite impressive for a teenager. The Islanders seem to always play their best games at MSG. Last year, the Rangers swept the season series. We’ll see how the first meeting of three goes.