The next test of the Rangers’ perfect home record — and the next one could be a spoiler on how close it is to a historic run — will involve two returns from the Garden.
Former head coach Peter Laviolette led the Rangers to the Presidents Trophy and Eastern Conference Finals in 2023-24 before being fired a year later. Nine games into his first season as Kings head coach, this will be his first return to the Garden since his exit. Star Artemi Panarin, who was traded before last year’s Olympic roster freeze and returned in March, will play his second game at the Garden as a member of the Kings.
Laviolette scored 114 points with the Blue Jackets and later scored 85 points as the Rangers missed the playoffs in 2024-25. He helped set the franchise’s scoring and win records (55) in his first year, putting the franchise on the cusp of a return to the sport’s ultimate stage while becoming the first coach in NHL history to lead six different teams to the playoffs before collapsing the next season.
But in the offseason, the Kings reunited Laviolette with Panarin, who had his best season under the coach in 2023-24, scoring 120 points (49 goals, 71 assists). When Panarin was traded to Los Angeles last year for Liam Greentree and a third-round draft pick, he was ninth among the Rangers in Broadway history in points (607), eighth all-time in assists (401) and first in points per game (1.26).
The Kings had a difficult start to the new season with only two wins, but in last week’s overtime victory over the Islanders, Panarin scored two goals and the team’s points have now reached six goals and nine points. In a way, it will be a reminder on Monday of what could have happened to the Rangers if they hadn’t lost to the Panthers in the 2024 conference finals and if their longtime core hadn’t taken a big step back next season.
Rangers have won six games at the Garden but just one win and three points away from home, and they go into Sunday’s game as the team with the most goals per game (4.83) and the second-most goals scored at home this season (29). With a win, the Rangers will start the new season with seven straight home wins for the first time since eight straight in 1990-91.
The Kings, now led by Laviolette and Panarin, will test that and have a chance to end the streak.
“We’re trying to create a team game that sets the team up for success no matter where we play,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Sunday of the Rangers’ success at home and struggles on the road.
“Obviously our guys played really well at home and we had some success, which is great and we have to build on that.”
On Monday, guard Adam Fox will play in his 500th career game. … Mats Zuccarello, who played nine seasons with the Rangers from 2010-19, had one assist in five games in his first season with the Kings.