Entering the season, the Rangers decided not to sign Gabe Perreault to a contract extension. So far, Perreault is off to a fast start in his second season, which could lead to team president and general manager Chris Drury changing his mind.

Following a quiet season opener that saw the Rangers get shut down by the Bruins on Sept. 29, they’ve reeled off three straight wins to pull into first place in the Metropolitan Division.

The 21-year-old Perreault has been noticeable during the three-game winning streak by recording a point in each victory. It started against the Lightning when he scored his first goal on a nice deflection of an Adam Fox shot pass on Oct. 1.

A game that became known for Igor Shesterkin scoring the first goalie goal in franchise history. For an encore when the Rangers returned to MSG on Sunday and won 4-2 over the Mammoth, he picked up an assist on an Eeli Tolvanen empty netter.

It was last Friday, Oct. 2 that Perreault had one of his most impactful games against the Red Wings. He set up Sean Durzi for a power-play goal in the first period of a 2-0 win. After taking a feed from Will Cuylle, the game-breaking Perreault came in with speed before finding an open Durzi for his first as a Ranger.

Perreault did it again on a second straight power play. On a similar play in transition, he found Durzi for what looked like another goal. However, Detroit successfully challenged that the play was offside to negate the goal.

In the same game, it was the dangerous Perreault again who nearly created a goal for linemate Alexis Lafreniere. He dangled around a Red Wings defender into the slot and had his backdoor pass deflected away. It would’ve been a tap-in for Lafreniere, who remains without a goal through four games.

Despite a slow start, Lafreniere has been around the puck often over the last two games. He’s been very active during shifts by creating offense for his line at 5-on-5. The chemistry he has with Perreault is evident, with the two playing well together during offensive shifts. They seem to know where the other is, which can wreak havoc for opponents.

Lafreniere has been stronger on the puck by using his combination of skill and strength to generate scoring chances. In the win against Utah, he had four shots-on-goal and drew two penalties by continuing to move his feet.

With the game tied early in the third period, he took a feed from Mika Zibanejad and had his one-timer rebound out right to Perreault for an easy finish that put the Rangers back ahead. Lafreniere picked up his first point of the season with a primary assist. He also came close to scoring but had his turnaround shot hit the goalpost.

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan showed confidence in Lafreniere, who was out late with them protecting the lead. After Tolvanen sealed it with an empty netter, Lafreniere drew a second penalty when he forced Mikhail Sergachev to take him down with a dozen seconds left.

For the game, he finished with 21:44 of ice time, which ranked second among Rangers forwards behind Zibanejad (24:32).

If they continue to play well, there’ll be no reason for Sullivan to consider making a change to the number one line. However, he did move up Tye Kartye into the top six last night. The very active Kartye played with goalscorer J.T. Miller and Pavel Dorofeyev on Sunday night.

Oliver Bjorkstrand was dropped to the fourth line. We’ll see if he returns to the second line for Tuesday’s game against the Islanders.

When you watch this team so far, they look very connected. It’s the total opposite of last year’s start. They’re forechecking effectively and defending well in front of Shesterkin and Dylan Garand, who recorded his first career shutout last Friday.

Veleno Being Monitored For Lower-Body Injury

The lineup could look different due to Joe Veleno leaving last night’s game with a lower-body injury. As usual, Sullivan didn’t provide an update. He’s being evaluated and didn’t practice on Monday.

It’s expected that the Rangers will recall a center from the Hartford Wolf Pack. Will they actually consider bringing up Cole Beaudoin? He had a strong start to his pro career with five points over the weekend. Only 20, it might be too soon for him to make his NHL debut in a rivalry game tomorrow night.

The safer bet is that either Justin Dowling or Anton Blidh gets the call. Either can serve as a placeholder for Veleno on the fourth line.

Unless they think Dylan Roobroeck can fill the void. He’s 22 and a former 2023 sixth round pick who projects as a checking center. We’ll see what the organization decides to do.