In new head coach Mike Sullivan's debut, the New York Rangers lost their opening night matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. For almost a decade, Sullivan was the bench boss in Pittsburgh. After parting ways with the Penguins in April, Sullivan was hired as the Rangers coach. After the loss, Sullivan was asked about facing former players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. The Athletic's Peter Baugh shared the head coach's take via X, formerly Twitter.
“It's different,” Sullivan said postgame. “I knew that was going to be the case. But I'm excited about the group we have here in front of me with the Rangers. I'm looking forward to working with this group.”
While the loss stings, the Rangers still have 81 games to make it up. A road trip to Buffalo to take on the Sabres looms on Thursday night. It's a good opportunity for Sullivan to get his first win as New York's latest coach. During the season opener, the Rangers' offense was nonexistent, as they failed to score on Pittsburgh starter Arturs Silovs. Can Sullivan get New York's attack back on track to secure a win in Buffalo?
Rangers look to rebound from season-opening loss to Penguins
After losing to the Penguins in their Tuesday night opener, the Rangers will travel to Pittsburgh after playing the Sabres on Thursday night. While playing the Pens twice in their first three games of the season is an odd schedule quirk, New York won't play their division rivals again until February 28th.
If Sullivan can lead the Rangers to wins in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, then the opening night loss to the Penguins should be quickly forgotten. The Stanley Cup-winning coach will need time to implement his vision for New York. Unfortunately, the Rangers do play in one of the most pressure-packed sports cities in the world. If Sullivan can't balance games like Tuesday night's defeat with some wins, he may have a shorter tenure at Madison Square Garden than at PPG Paints Arena.
