RANGERS VS. MAPLE LEAFS
RANGERS-MAPLE LEAFS CONNECTIONS
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. MAPLE LEAFS
ROAD WARRIORS
New York led the NHL in wins (27) and points (56) on the road during the 2016-17 season (27-12-2 record). The Rangers also led the NHL in goal differential (plus-28), tied for the NHL lead in goals against (97), and tied for fourth in the NHL in goals for (125) on the road last season. The Rangers lead the NHL in road wins since the start of the 2013-14 season (99). New York's 27 road wins in 2016-17 were the second-most the team earned in one season in franchise history, and the only season in which the Blueshirts earned more than 27 road wins was 2014-15 (28). The Rangers' 27 road wins last season were also tied for the fifth-most any NHL team has recorded in one season in league history.
BOUNCE BACK
Since Dec. 22, 2015, the Rangers have posted a 40-11-4 record in the game following a loss (either regulation loss or overtime/shootout loss). New York posted a 23-7-4 record in games following a loss during the 2016-17 season.
WHAT A LINE
The Rangers' top line (Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich) recorded three points (two goals, one assist) and 14 shots on goal in the first game of the season on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado. All three players logged at least 7:00 of ice time on the power play in the contest, and Buchnevich established a single-game career-high with 18:22 of ice time overall in the game.
HOT AT THE DOT
New York won 35 of 55 faceoffs on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado (63.6%), including 16 of 24 faceoffs taken in the offensive zone (66.7%). Two forwards posted a faceoff percentage of 75.0% or better in the contest (J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad).
TRUE BLUE
Of the 23 players on the Rangers' roster, 12 have made their NHL debut with the Rangers and have only played with the Blueshirts in their NHL career (Buchnevich, Chytil, Fast, Hayes, Kreider, Lundqvist, McDonagh, Miller, Skjei, Staal, Vesey, and Zuccarello).
UNITED NATIONS
New York's roster features at least one player from seven different countries: the United States of America (Carey, DeAngelo, Hayes, Kampfer, Kreider, McDonagh, Miller, Shattenkirk, Skjei, and Vesey), Canada (Desharnais, Holden, Nash, Smith, and Staal), Sweden (Fast, Lundqvist, and Zibanejad), Czech Republic (Chytil and Pavelec), Austria (Grabner), Norway (Zuccarello), and Russia (Buchnevich).
MIKA MAGIC
Mika Zibanejad registered two goals, both on the power play, and led all skaters with eight shots on goal and 18 faceoff wins (18-for-24; 75.0%) on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado. Zibanejad also won 10 of 11 faceoffs he took in the offensive zone during the game (90.9%). He tied single-game career-highs in power play goals, shots on goal, and faceoff wins in the contest. Zibanejad has recorded 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 57 games as a member of the Rangers (0.68 points per game).
KING HENRIK
Henrik Lundqvist made his 12th consecutive start in a season-opening game with the Rangers on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado, becoming the first goaltender in franchise history to start in 12 regular season openers, as well as 12 consecutive season openers. Lundqvist ranks 10th on the NHL's all-time wins list (405), and he is two wins away from tying Glenn Hall for ninth place on the league's all-time wins list. Lundqvist has appeared in 743 NHL games in his career. When he makes his next appearance, he will tie Chris Osgood for 20th place on the NHL's all-time appearances list.
SHATT STATS
Kevin Shattenkirk tallied a power play assist, which was his first assist/point as a Ranger, and led the team with 23:48 of ice time while making his Rangers debut on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado. Shattenkirk established career-highs in assists (43), points (56), power play goals (eight), and power play points (27) last season, and he was one of four NHL defensemen who recorded at least 10 goals and 40 assists in 2016-17 (Burns, Hedman, and Karlsson).
CHYTIL-MANIA
Filip Chytil made his NHL/Rangers debut on Oct. 5 vs. Colorado. By playing in the Rangers' regular season opener, Chytil, who was 18 years and 30 days old on Oct. 5, became ...
the fourth-youngest player to appear in a game with the Rangers in franchise history; the only players who were younger were Harry Lumley (17 years, 42 days on Dec. 23, 1943), Len Wharton (17 years, 81 days on Mar. 4, 1945), and Don Raleigh (17 years, 125 days on Oct. 30, 1943). \note is per the Elias Sports Bureau
the sixth-youngest player to appear in an NHL game since expansion (1967-68 season); the only players who were younger were Patrick Marleau, Grant Mulvey, Martin Lapointe, Jordan Staal, and Chris Joseph \note is per the Elias Sports Bureau
the first 18-year-old to appear in a game with the Rangers since Dan Blackburn on Apr. 13, 2002 at Philadelphia.
the first 18-year-old skater (forward or defenseman) to play in a game with the Rangers since Manny Malhotra on Apr. 18, 1999 vs. Pittsburgh (the contest was Wayne Gretzky's final NHL game).
WELCOME MATS
Mats Zuccarello was named an alternate captain on Oct. 4. Zuccarello established career-highs in several categories last season, including assists (44), even strength assists (35), and even strength points (45).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play:
Penalty Kill:
UPCOMING MILESTONES
INJURIES (1 Man-Game Lost to Injury)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
THIS DAY IN RANGERS HISTORY
- Oct. 6, 1976 - Nick Fotiu made his NHL/Rangers debut.
- Oct. 6, 1996 - Wayne Gretzky played his first game as a Ranger at Madison Square Garden.
- Oct. 7, 1955 - Andy Hebenton made his NHL/Rangers debut, playing the first of a franchise-record, 560 consecutive games with the Blueshirts.
- Oct. 7, 1991 - Prior to playing his first game as a Ranger at Madison Square Garden, Mark Messier was named the 22nd captain in franchise history. The Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 2-1, in overtime, as Mike Gartner registered the game-winning goal.
- Oct. 7, 2001 - The Rangers played their first regular season game at home since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The Rangers and their opponents, the Buffalo Sabres, both wore jerseys with "New York" on the front, and in a pre-game ceremony, Mark Messier donned the firefighter's helmet of FDNY chief Ray Downey, who passed away in the attack. The Blueshirts won the game, 5-4, in overtime, as Brian Leetch tallied the game-winning goal.
