Gabe Perreault definitely looks like a Ranger. But does that necessarily mean he looks like an NHL player these days? The jury is still out.
In his first full season in the professional league, Perreault has been on the receiving end of a significant amount of speculation from Rangers faithful. Is he the missing link the team needs offensively, or yet another scrawny ice skater who can’t face off against more physical teams?
After starting this season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Perreault worked hard to prove himself, quickly racking up five goals and 10 points in nine games with the team. On Nov. 9, he was pulled up as the Rangers faced off against the Nashville Predators.
Surely, that was at least in part due to the Rangers beginning the season with an offensive drought of epic proportions. Going into Perreault’s NHL debut, New York had a 0–6–1 record at home in Madison Square Garden, with five of those being shutouts—tying a franchise worst.
This was having an obvious effect on team morale, with frustration showing both on the ice and in post-game interviews.
In his first game, Perreault played on the first line with Mika Zibanejad. Ever since the Rangers traded fellow Boston College alum Chris Kreider last season, they have been looking for someone to play alongside Zibanejad who could replicate the two’s chemistry.
By inserting Perreault into the line, the Rangers might have hoped to replace one Eagle with another and yield a similar result. For a moment in the second period, that plan seemed like it worked as Perreault fired an assist to Alexis Lafrenière, who scored to put the Rangers up 3–1.
It was Perreault’s first career NHL point and contributed to the Rangers’ first home win this season.
Since then, BC’s former sensation has appeared in five more games for the Rangers. And on Dec. 18 against the St. Louis Blues, Perreault scored the first goal of his young NHL career.
The goal was not as clean as some of those that BC fans got used to seeing, as the puck deflected off his skates for the score.
“Not the prettiest goal, but it feels good to finally get the first one,” Perreault said in a post-game interview.
Going into the following home game on Dec. 20, fans (like myself) were excited to see if that first-goal momentum could build on itself.
Perreault didn’t score against the Philadelphia Flyers, but the Rangers still came away with a tie and a 5–4 shootout win. And despite still waiting on his first home goal, Perreault looked solid throughout, tallying an assist to J.T. Miller, who brought the Rangers within a goal of the Flyers in the third period.
Skating on the third line again with Noah Laba and Will Cuylle allowed the 20-year-old Quebec native to exhibit his talents more, as he faced more even matchups than he did while playing on the first line.
While Perreault might not be the offensive powerhouse many Rangers fans were hoping he would be right out of the gate, he has consistently contributed to building offensive pressure. He’s shown he can spot good passes to his teammates, giving the Rangers’ otherwise lackluster season a little bit of a boost.
I can’t deny that I am hoping to see more from him in the future. But in five games, Perreault has proven that he can at least keep up with this Rangers team, and hopefully help them turn this season around.
BC preps their players well for the pros. Rangers faithful can only hope that Perreault is no exception. The Rangers being 6–0 with Perreault might be a sign that he can prove himself in MSG, just as he did in Conte.