Rangers vs. Devils prediction, best bets, props Thursday: Ride Alexis Lafrenires torrid goal streak

Time will tell if the Rangers can sustain their hot start in an Igor Shesterkin-less campaign. So far, it’s been hard to nitpick them. They’ve developed a defensive identity as teams haven’t had answers for their physical, heavy forechecking scheme.They’re winning games on home ice (five already), the leadership group has set an influence and offensive contributions are fluid up and down the lineup. There are several rising heroes to look toward.While rookie goaltender Dylan Garand, who was thrust into a near impossible scenario, has been a revelation, Alexis Lafrenière has blossomed into the offensive force the Rangers envisioned when they drafted him first overall six years ago.Lafrenière enters Thursday night’s rivalry tilt against New Jersey as the NHL’s leading goal scorer, riding a career-best four-game goal streak that’s made for seven tallies. The opportunities have been coming in waves.He struck twice against the Lightning on Tuesday, opening the scoring just 62 seconds into the contest before beating Andrei Vasilevskiy on a breakaway later in the first period.These chances are no fluke, either.

Lafrenière is the seventh-overall ranked player in expected goals through eight games. He’s finding the dangerous areas of the ice and capitalizing on the relentless forechecking of linemates J.T.Miller and Tye Kartye.

That trio has outscored opponents 4-0 at five-on-five while controlling 67.45 percent of expected goals in their early minutes together, per MoneyPuck.Kartye assisted on both of Lafrenière’s goals Tuesday, first creating a scoring opportunity through an aggressive puck battle behind Tampa Bay’s net, then springing him on a breakaway with a perfectly placed stretch pass.While this chemistry is enabling a more robust version of the power winger, his offensive resurgence dates back to last season, when he produced 14 goals and 28 points over his final 27 games.The Devils will face him having surrendered 22 goals through six...