VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Competition is at the root of everything the Rangers do nowadays.
That is the all-encompassing principle head coach Peter Laviolette has instilled in the Blueshirts’ new day-to-day schedule in his first five weeks at the helm.
It has elevated the pace, intensity and emotion in how the Rangers go about their business.
Sometimes, they come off the ice after a 35-minute practice with the same beet red faces and dripping sweat that they have after 60-minute games.
Sometimes, a group of players will cheer so loudly after a goal in a skills drill that you would think it just unfolded in Game 7 of the playoffs.
It all comes back to fostering that competition.
When you win, you have more fun.
And when you lose, there seems to be a sort of chemical released in your brain that makes you want to be better so you can win next time.
It’s the very science of how competition affects anybody’s psyche.
“It’s a lot of fun, but guys don’t want to lose,” Chris Kreider told The Post after another enthusiastic session Friday afternoon at Rogers Arena. “We’re tracking wins and losses. You can hear how energetic it is. Guys are hooting and hollering. It’s all in the vein of competition. It’s all competitive.
“You lose one of those competition drills, you want to win the next one that much more. Everyone’s pushing each other. It’s a lot of fun, but I think it’s really good for our team.”
As he promised in his introductory press conference, Laviolette set the tone in training camp.
There was only one speed the Rangers were going to operate at, and that’s full speed.
Laviolette came right out and said he wanted hard, intense practices because that is part of the job.
The message was to go out on the ice and for each individual player to show him their greatness.
Kaapo Kakko said it was the hardest training camp he’s ever participated in entering his fifth NHL season.
The uptick in tempo to the Rangers’ on-ice sessions is one thing, but the variety of work and range of drills that Laviolette, his assistants Michael Peca, Phil Housley and Dan Muse, as well as skills coach Christian Hmura have brought to the club is another.
The Rangers practice three-on-three and four-on-four often.
They set up tight drills in the corner, with two goals facing the curve of the boards at 90-degree angles, to encourage strong stickhandling as well as physicality in the dirty areas of the ice.
Morning skate sessions are designed to get players to feel the puck, get into the flow of a game and put the team in a battle-oriented head space.
Mika Zibanejad noted that Laviolette’s morning skates are a bit different than what he’s experienced in the past.
Morning skates are an opportunity to set the tone for the day, Laviolette said earlier this season, noting he likes to have structure in the team’s schedule ahead of a game.
No two practices look the same under Laviolette, who is as engaged and involved with the Rangers as they are with the puck.
He is conscientious of giving each player individual attention with private conversations, on and off the ice.
“Last year was more like we knew what we were going to do out there every time, same practices,” Kakko said. “I know it’s good sometimes, especially morning skate before the game. … But I think these [practices] when we don’t have a game, little competition, it’s always fun. All the players want to win.
“Also, every day [there’s] something new on the ice. You have to think about it a little. Not just get on the ice, doing it, come back. It’s a little different, but I think it’s been good so far.”
Erik Gustafsson, who played under Laviolette last season in Washington, confirmed that the 58-year-old bench boss ran things the same way with the Capitals.
His approach to practices and morning skates has been a long-standing trait of Laviolette’s coaching style.
The other holdover for Laviolette, as is common for most coaches, has been his assistants.
Housley, a Hall of Fame defenseman, was an assistant under Laviolette with the Predators from 2013-17.
With 1,495 games of NHL experience on his résumé, Housley has been able to relate to the Rangers defensemen in ways that many can’t.
“Obviously, a fantastic hockey player himself and he knows the game really well,” Ryan Lindgren said. “Just a guy who’s easy to talk to. He likes doing video. It’s been great learning from him.”
Peca, a veteran of 864 NHL games himself, not only played under Laviolette during his two seasons as head coach of the Islanders from 2001-2003, but he was also a player development coach under Laviolette in Washington during the 2020-21 season.
Primarily focusing on the power play and faceoffs, the 49-year-old Peca has the Rangers ranked sixth in power-play percentage (30.4), as well as sixth in faceoff win percentage (53.8) through the first seven games of the season.
The Rangers’ faceoff skills have needed tending to for years, and Barclay Goodrow noted that Peca has been invaluable in that department.
For a top power-play unit that has largely been together for a while, however, Peca has still helped the Rangers to hone in on the details.
“I don’t know if it’s anything revolutionary,” Zibanejad said of how Peca has helped the power play. “I think it’s the communication of what we need from him and from there, I think it’s trying to use him as much as we can. The things that we’re trying to do out there and little things that we’ve done. And just in terms of getting the video from him of what we’ve done well, what we have to do better, what the opponent is doing, what we can expect going on the ice.”
Muse, who worked under Laviolette in Nashville for three seasons, has the Rangers’ penalty kill standing at 81.8 percent efficiency.
Though to anyone who has watched the Rangers practice, Muse is known for his booming voice that reverberates around any arena no matter the size.
In addition to taking the lead on explaining drills, Muse is the one who is keeping score on all the competition.
Once the practice battles are through and the team has slowed down, the Rangers stretch at center ice before coming together for a group embrace.
After every practice and every morning skate, it always ends the same way: Together.
Players in the room laud the new tradition for its impact on team chemistry.
It’s become routine now.
With it, Laviolette has only strengthened the “We” in the Rangers’ locker room.
“Since the first day we came … I just remember the first practice, we just started hard,” Filip Chytil said. “Nobody said anything, we just came on the ice excited and we pushed the pace right from the first second. Since then, it’s just been like that every day. It’s what I like. I think that’s what the best teams do. When I look at the locker room that we have, we have unbelievable players here.
“It’s just good for us and good for me, because it can make me better as a player. The competition in the practices are the best.”