SEATTLE — The Rangers have embarked on their longest trip of the season, which also happens to be their lengthiest swing on the road since the 2021-22 campaign as they venture to five cities in the span of 12 days.
For a team with a few new faces, including a coach in his first year with the club, the Blueshirts seem to welcome the extended quality time together so early on in the season.
“I think it’s good at times, too, especially with a new group,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of the long road trip. “I think it’s good to get on the road, and you get to spend more time than you do on a practice day at home or a game day at home. You’re just coming in to work. Here, you’re actually somewhat cohesive and married to the people that you’re on the trip with. And that can be a good thing, too.
“When you get on these trips, I think playing well and winning is a part of it. If you want things to be positive for a long road trip early in the year, you got to invest in the game, take care of business during the games.”
After Saturday night’s game against the Kraken, the Rangers will stick around Seattle for a couple more days before they leave for the Western Canada leg of the trip.
The plan is for the team to have an off-day on Sunday and then practice in Seattle on Monday before they board a flight to Calgary.
From there, the Rangers will head to Edmonton, Vancouver and then finish up in Winnipeg.
All of the games are spread out, with no back-to-back contests that are usually scheduled on a trip of this magnitude. The Rangers actually don’t have their first back-to-back set of games until late November, when they face the Flyers in Philadelphia on the 24th and then the Bruins at home on the 25th.
This current trip features a mixed bag of competition, but three playoff teams — the Kraken, Oilers and Jets — from last season nonetheless. Either way, the Rangers need to set the tone for themselves going forward after their mixed bag of performances through the first four games of the season.
“We’re not happy with the way we played the other night [in the 4-1 loss to Nashville],” Jimmy Vesey said. “So this is the first chance for us to respond.”
The Rangers did away with their preseason bonding trip in Rhode Island, but 12 days together in the first month of the season should give the team more than enough time to get better acquainted.
They’ll probably enjoy football Sunday together on the off-day in Seattle.
“Obviously, when you’re with each other for 12 days, you spend a lot of time together,” Braden Schneider said. “I think it’s good to get this going early in the year. It’s a long trip. It’s a tough trip. I think no matter [what], you want to win as many games as you can. It’s a good way to let your game grow. It’s an opportunity to get lots of games and tough games and I’m excited for it.”
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