Finally, there’s a reason to get excited. The New York Rangers recalled Gabe Perreault from the Hartford Wolf Pack yesterday. He will make his season debut when the Nashville Predators visit The Garden tonight.

Selected with the 23rd pick in the first round in 2023, the 20-year-old Perreault played two years at Boston College. While there, he posted 35 goals and 73 assists for a total of 108 points.

He also represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships, helping them win back to back gold medals. Perreault had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 2024 and 2025.

After nearly making the roster out of training camp, he was sent down to Hartford to work on his game. In nine games, Perreault was leading the Wolf Pack in scoring with five goals and five assists for 10 points in nine games. He was held out of the last two as a precaution due to an upper-body injury. He’ll be ready to go later.

When Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan was speaking to reporters about Perreault, he made it very clear how he wanted to use him. Unlike previous coaches, Sullivan plans to play Perreault in a top six role and give him time on the power play. That’s exactly how a top prospect should be treated.

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“We want to try to put players in positions to succeed. Ideally, we were trying to give Gabe some time down there to build and develop his game, physically and otherwise, in the hopes that when he does get called to New York, he has the ability to be successful. I obviously talked to Chris (Drury) after the game the other night (and) yesterday when the decision was made. A lot of it’s based on Gabe’s own performance down there, and what we think the needs of the Rangers are here at this particular point in time.”

Undoubtedly, the Rangers know that the offense is a priority. With Perreault getting the chance to play in a defined role, it’s an opportunity to help immediately. There hasn’t been enough consistency or creativity so far.

Perreault brings the skating and playmaking that could make a difference. He’ll start on a line with Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller. Both have struggled to finish. Zibanejad enters play without a goal in the last five games. Miller is without a point in three straight. Each has only put up eight points in the first 16 games. That needs to change.

The power play remains a problem. After getting a power-play goal from Will Cuylle in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 7, the Rangers were 0-for-2 on Saturday in an all too predictable shutout loss to the New York Islanders at MSG. For the season, the Rangers rank 31st on the power play (5-for-41).

In the 5-0 humiliation to the Islanders that included three Islanders’ goals on odd man rushes which drew the ire of Sullivan, they were shut out at home for the fifth time – tying a franchise record for the most in a season. They also tied the Pittsburgh Pirates’ record for most times getting shut out to start a season at home. It’s not even Thanksgiving.

The strange part about this team is that they’ve proven very capable of winning away from MSG. Nobody has a better road record than the Blueshirts, who are 7-1-1. At home, they’re averaging less than a goal-per-game with six in seven. That’s insane.

Both Miller and Zibanejad were very candid about the difficulty scoring on home ice following Saturday’s nightmare.

“We’re aware of it and it’s frustrating not to be able to get a win at home. You want to build a feeling for teams coming in here, it’s going to be tough, but obviously, we haven’t,” Zibanejad told reporters at his locker on Saturday.

There’s no question it’s psychological for the players. If they don’t score early against the Predators, who come in on a four-game losing streak, all bets are off. In the last two home defeats to the Carolina Hurricanes and Islanders, they had good starts. But they were unable to bury their chances. Once they fell behind, things unraveled quickly.

On Saturday, Artemi Panarin was robbed by Ilya Sorokin in the first minute. Zibanejad then hit a goalpost and just missed on another golden opportunity. When he got back to the Rangers bench, he slammed his stick in frustration.

When the game was out of reach, Miller broke his stick twice, including following an empty netter scored by J.G. Pageau. The only game at MSG they got a point in was back on Oct. 23 in a 6-5 overtime loss against the San Jose Sharks. They bring a 0-6-1 home record into tonight’s game.

Rangers Get Trocheck Back

In addition to Perreault joining the team, the Rangers finally get Vincent Trocheck back. He missed 14 games with an upper-body injury sustained on Oct. 9 versus the Buffalo Sabres.

A key player who brings a lot to the table, Trocheck will return to his familiar spot as the center who plays with Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere. Neither have been lighting it up. Panarin has three goals and seven assists for 10 points. Lafreniere has two goals and six helpers for eight points. Undoubtedly, they missed Trocheck, who can create enough space for both. It’s imperative for that line to produce like they did two years ago. Hopefully, having Trocheck back can give them a much needed jolt.

With Trocheck centering one scoring line and Zibanejad in between Perreault and Miller, Cuylle moves down to the third line. He’ll play with Noah Laba and Taylor Raddysh, whose five goals lead the Rangers. Cuylle is still featured as the net front presence on the number one power play unit that features Panarin, Zibanejad, Miller, and Adam Fox.

The second unit should have a different look. Trocheck will anchor it. It includes Lafreniere, Perreault, Raddysh, and Braden Schneider. No more Conor Sheary, who will play on the fourth line with Sam Carrick and Adam Edstrom, who returns to the lineup after missing two games.

On paper, this looks like a much better lineup. From top to bottom, it should have balance. It’s up to the players to make it work.

By activating Trocheck, the Rangers will place Matt Rempe on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) retroactive to Nov. 3. That will make them cap compliant, allowing them to keep three players up. Juuso Parssinen and Jonny Brodzinski are the healthy scratches along with Matthew Robertson, who sat out for Urho Vaakanainen on Nov. 8.

Eventually, when Rempe returns, the Rangers will have to make a decision with the roster. A player will have to go on waivers to make room. The likely candidates are Brodzinski and Sheary. Considering that Rempe could be out for a while, they’ll worry about it when the time comes.

Former Rangers Having Success

As I’ve noted before, former Rangers continue to have success. Most notable have been Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba.

The Anaheim Ducks got wins over the Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets this past weekend. On Saturday night, Trouba got the overtime winner in a 4-3 win at Vegas. Last night, Kreider recorded two assists in a 4-1 win over the Jets.

So far, Kreider has nine goals and three assists for 12 points in 11 games. Seven of those points have come on the power play. Trouba has 10 points (4-6-10) and leads the league in plus/minus (16).

While they’ve had a lot of success so far, K’Andre Miller is off to a good start with the Hurricanes. In a 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, Miller tallied two assists, including the primary helper that led to Logan Stankoven getting the game-winner in the third period.

Since returning from an upper-body injury, Miller has points in all three games, recording four assists in three consecutive wins. In nine games, he has eight points (2-6-8). Without Jaccob Slavin, Miller’s seen an increase in his ice time. He’s averaging 23:23 with the Canes. That includes power play and penalty kill.

Miller needed a scenery change. So far, so good playing for coach Rod Brind’Amour in Raleigh.

One might ask why former players do well elsewhere. Sometimes, they need a fresh start. There’s little doubt that both Kreider and Trouba had to get out of the Big Apple after how they were handled by Chris Drury. Playing on a younger team that boasts some good talent, each is playing up to capability.

We’ll see if the Ducks continue to lead the Pacific Division.