TONIGHT'S GAME
RANGERS VS. PENGUINS HISTORY
All-Time Postseason Record: 2-5 in series, 13-24 in games (5-12 at home, 8-12 on the road)
All-Time Regular Season Record: 135-118-23-16 (76-55-9-8 at home, 59-63-14-8 on road)
2021-22 Regular Season: The Rangers went 3-1-0 (2-0-0 at home, 1-1-0 on the road) against the Penguins during the regular season, winning their last three games against them. New York outscored the Penguins 11-4 over the course of the season, behind strong goaltending by Igor Shesterkin (3- 1-0, 1.01 GAA, .960 SV%). Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad shared the team-lead against Pittsburgh in points with six each. All six of Zibanejad's points were assists while Kreider had three goals and three assists.
Pregame Notes: Game One vs. Penguins
INDIVIDUAL REGULAR SEASON CAREER STATISTICS VS. PENGUINS
Igor Shesterkin - 5-3-1, 1 SO, 19 GA, .924 SV%, 2.11 GAA - Shesterkin has won his last three games against the Penguins, including a shutout in his last outing April 7 against them. In his last four starts versus Pittsburgh, Shesterkin has allowed a total of four goals (0 (1x), 1 (2x), 2 (1x).
Artemi Panarin - 23 GP, 13G-17A--30 PTS - Panarin's 30 points against the Penguins are his fourth most regular season points against any one team in the NHL (PHI - 37). Panarin's 13 goals against Pittsburgh are his most against one team in the NHL. Since 2015-16, Panarin's 30 points are tied for the fourth most and his 13 goals rank tied for third of any NHL player against the Penguins. Panarin has points in three-straight games against Pittsburgh (1G-3A) and in nine of his 11 games with New York against the Penguins (4G-11A).
Chris Kreider - 35 GP, 9G-14A--23 PTS - Kreider has six points (3G-3A) in his last three regular season games against Pittsburgh and a combined plus- 5 rating. Kreider has points in seven of his last 10 contests against the Penguins, recording five goals and five assists for 10 points in that span. Kreider has collected four goals and one assist for five points in 14 playoffs games against Pittsburgh.
Frank Vatrano - 16 GP, 9G-4A--13 PTS - Vatrano has goals in three-straight games against the Penguins and has scored in four of his last five contests against Pittsburgh.
PLAYOFFS?
New York qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17, excluding the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
Chris Kreider is the only player who remains with the Rangers after appearing for the team in the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, notching 13 of his 39 career playoff points that year.
Barclay Goodrow (2020 TBL and 2021 TBL) and Sammy Blais (2019 STL) are the only members of the Rangers' active roster with at least one Stanley Cup.
Justin Braun has played in 100 playoff games, the most on New York. 2021-22
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The Rangers finished the 2021-22 season, their 95th as a franchise, with a 52-24-6 record for 110 points. New York ranked sixth in the NHL in wins, tied for seventh in points, and tied for fourth in regulation wins.
The Blueshirts' 52 wins were tied for second most in team history (2014-15 - 53) and their 110 points were the third most in a single season in franchise history behind 2014-15 (113) and 1993-94 (112).
The Rangers were the 10th team in NHL history and first since Pittsburgh in 2011-12 to finish with at least 50 wins, at least 100 points, and had a 50- goal scorer, a 90-point scorer, and a goalie with at least 36 wins.
CAREER-YEARS
Of the 25 active skaters at the end of the regular season, 18 recorded or tied their career-highs in either goals, assists, and points. Eight skaters notched career-highs in all three.
NO QUIT IN NY
New York had 27 comeback wins, the second most in the NHL behind Florida (29) and tied for the fourth most in NHL history. The Rangers led the league with 23 one-goal comebacks and also had four comebacks down two goals. Eight of the Blueshirts' 27 comebacks came in the third period.
SAVING THE DAY
The Blueshirts finished with the second lowest goals against average in the NHL with a 2.49 clip. New York's 204 goals allowed were second fewest to Carolina (200). At home, the Rangers' 93 goals against were the second fewest in the league.
New York led the league with a .919 save percentage.
Igor Shesterkin went 36-13-4 with a league-leading 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage, joining Henrik Lundqvist as the only Rangers goalies to finish a season (min. 40 GP) leading the NHL in both save percentage and goal-against average. Dave Kerr in 1939-40 is the only Rangers goalie besides Shesterkin and Lundqvist to lead the NHL in either GAA or SV%.
Shesterkin posted the highest single season save percentage in Rangers history among goaltenders who made 30 or more appearances.
Shesterkin's save percentage was the third highest in NHL history among goaltenders who played 50 or more games, behind Tim Thomas (2010-11 - .938) and Dominik Hasek (1998-99 - .937).
FAN FAVORITES
At home in the regular season, the Rangers went 27-10-4 for 58 points. In the NHL, they ranked tied for seventh in home wins and home points.
Chris Kreider's 28 home goals were tied for the most in franchise history.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
For the fourth time in team history, the Blueshirts had four or more players with 70-plus points (2021-22, 1993-94, 1991-92, 1971-72).
The Rangers had two players with 80-plus points (Panarin, Zibanejad) for the first time since 2006-07 and three players with 75-plus points (Kreider, Panarin, Zibanejad) for the first time since 2005-06. K
KREIDING RIGHT INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Chris Kreider set franchise records in power play goals (26) and game-winning goals (11), while also tying Adam Graves (1993-94) for the second most goals in franchise history with 52.
Kreider has tallied 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points in 80 playoff games, spread across seven playoff seasons.
Kreider's season marked the 17th time in NHL history that a player has recorded 52+ goals and 26+ power play goals in a season, the most recent before Kreider was Ilya Kovalchuk in 2005-06 with Atlanta.
Kreider is the only player in NHL history to record 50+ goals, 25+ power play goals, three+ shorthanded goals and 10+ game winning goals in the same season. Kreider is the fourth skater in league history to tally 52+ goals, 26+ power play goals and 11+ game-winning goals (Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, Alexander Mogilny).
BREAD ON FIRE
Artemi Panarin has averaged nearly one point per playoff game in his NHL career (0.93 P/GP; 10-18-28 in 30 GP). The only undrafted players to debut since 1963-64 and average at least one point per game in the postseason (minimum: 25 GP) are Wayne Gretzky (1.84 P/GP), Bobby Orr (1.24 P/GP), Peter Stastny (1.13 P/GP) and Phil Esposito (1.05 P/GP).
Artemi Panarin recorded a career-high 74 assists and 96 points, becoming the first forward in team history to record 74 assists in a season. His assist total was third most in a single season by a Ranger, behind Brian Leetch (1991-92 - 80) and Sergei Zubov (1993-94 - 77).
Artemi Panarin's 96 points were the most by a Ranger since Jaromir Jagr in 2006-07 and tied for the 11th most in team history.
MIKA MAGIC
Mika Zibanejad, one of two holdovers from the Rangers playoff run in 2017, recorded regular season career-highs in assists (52) and points (81) and was a team-leading plus-30. In addition, he had career-high tying 15 power play goals.
Zibanejad was one of three centers in the NHL this season (Barkov, Lindholm) to record 80-plus points and a plus-30 rating or better.
FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Adam Fox is set to become the third reigning Norris Trophy winner to contest at least one playoff game with the Rangers, following Doug Harvey and Harry Howell.
Fox ranked third among NHL defensemen in assists (63) and fourth in points (74). Fox's point total was the ninth most in franchise history by a defenseman and his assist total was the fifth most in a single season by a Rangers defenseman.
