This Rangers' core, led by Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, isn't built to hit and disrupt and grind. They always revert to a finesse game that relies on soft perimeter play and risky east-west passes, as opposed to the tenacious, direct approach each coach hired by team president Chris Drury prefers.

Asked about his new top defenseman and potential Olympic bubble player Thursday, Sullivan called him "an elite player in this league."

It’s been almost ten days since Mike Sullivan took over as head coach of the Rangers. The man who led the Penguins until recently will now have the task of reviving the Blue Shirts… who are coming off a most disappointing season.