For one thing, his gorgeous goalie victory against a traditionally high-scoring Toronto team has NHL experts such as Kevin Weekes – he broke the original outlandish Shesterkin $ demand – warbling cheery super-homilies about Igor's soaring value.

Laviolette sat Zac Jones in favor of Ruhwedel, who played 14:04 on Saturday and tied for the team lead with a plus-two rating. Jones had played in the previous four games, posting an assist and a plus-four rating while averaging 15:45 of ice time. The Rangers had 44.18 percent of the expected goal share with him on the ice at five-on-five.

It is a likely byproduct of two of the NHL’s largest media markets that an Original Six game before Halloween was billed as a statement game, but short of that, the New York Rangers sent a declaration of intent to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the league writ large in a 4-1 victory on Saturday.