from Steven Ellis of The Hockey News,

Yeah, Alexis Lafreniere hasn't been good this year.

But how is he going to improve playing limited minutes?

In a game where the New York Rangers needed an offensive spark against the Toronto Maple Leafs (both teams had 23 points heading into Thursday), Lafreniere only played just 13:25 and registered zero shots on net. It was the sixth time over the past nine games that Lafreniere has failed to put up a shot in what has been a challenging stretch for the top pick from the 2020 draft.

That's not what the Rangers should be getting out of their top young forward. But his usage has been just odd, to say the least. Lafreniere struggled early on, recording just three points in his first seven games despite playing top-six minutes. It wasn't working, and Lafreniere has found himself playing fewer than 15 minutes over the past 10 games.

It has been one way or the other in terms of ice time. Maybe a trip to the Hartford Wolf Pack is in order....

That's far from ideal from your second-year player, one many expected to be a game-changer for a young, developing Rangers team.

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