Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Hurricanes 01.21.22

TONIGHT'S GAME
RANGERS VS. HURRICANES
All-Time: 85-54-7-2 (51-18-4-2 at home; 34-36-3-0 on the road)
INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. HURRICANES
Mika Zibanejad - 25 GP, 12G-15A=27 PTS - Zibanejad has back-to-back three-point games against the Hurricanes and has points in three-straight against them (4G-3A). In his last six games against Carolina, he has 11 points (6G-5A).
Chris Kreider - 27 GP, 11G-8A=19 PTS - Kreider has two points (1G-1A) in his last two games against the Hurricanes. His 11 goals are tied for the fifth most against any one opponent.
Ryan Strome - 22 GP, 5G-12A=17 PTS - Strome has points in three of his last four games against the Hurricanes (2G-2A).

Goalies vs. CAR
Igor Shesterkin (1 GP, 1-0-0, 2 GA, .931 SV%, 2.00 GAA).
Alexandar Georgiev (2 GP, 1-1-0, 10 GA, .880 SV%, 5.07 GAA)
RANGERS AND HURRICANES CONNECTIONS
Jesper Fast played parts of seven seasons with the Rangers (2013-14 - 2019-20). While playing for the Rangers Fast received the Players Player Award five seasons in a row (2015-16 - 2019-20).
Brady Skjei played parts of five seasons with the Rangers (2015-16 - 2019-20).
Derek Stepan played seven seasons with the Rangers (2010-11 - 2016-17).
Brendan Smith played for the Rangers from 2016-17 - 2020-21.
Antti Raanta played two seasons with the Rangers (2015-16 and 2016-17).
Greg McKegg played part of one season with Carolina (2018-19).
Adam Fox was acquired by the Rangers from Carolina on Apr. 30, 2019.
WOAH, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE
The Rangers will reach the halfway point of the season with their 41st game of the season. At the halfway point, the Rangers are 26-10-4 for 56 points. They rank tied for fourth in the NHL in wins and fourth in the NHL in points.
With a win tonight, the Rangers will have their most points (58) at the halfway point since 2011-12 and tied for the second-most in team history.
The Rangers have won seven of their last nine games, earned at least one point in nine of their last 12 games (8-3-1), have wins in 16 of their last 23 games, 20 of their last 28 games and points in 24 of their last 32 games (21-8-3). The Rangers have at least one point in 30 of their 40 games this season.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Rangers head back on the road for their league-high 25th road game of the season. The Blueshirts have the most road wins in the NHL (15) and most road points (32). On the road, the Rangers allow 2.54 goals per game, the fourth-best mark in the league. Their 86.1 road penalty kill percentage is third in the league.
New York has won five of its last eight road games and has been victorious in nine of its last 13 road games dating back to November 24.
COMEBACK KINGS
On Wednesday night, the Rangers completed their 12th comeback win of the season, tied for the fourth-most in the NHL this season. Of those 12 wins, 10 have come from one-goal deficits while two have from two-goal deficits.
MIKA MAGIC
Mika Zibanejad is currently riding a season-long six-game point streak (3G-4A) and has points in seven of his last eight games (6G-4A). This is his ninth career point streak of six or more games and his first since Apr. 9-18, 2021 (6 GP).
With a point tonight, he will match his second-longest point streak of his career and longest since Feb. 11-27, 2020 (9 GP). In his last 12 games, Zibanejad has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points.
SHESTERKIN BY THE NUMBERS
Igor Shesterkin has won five-straight starts and has earned a shutout in two of his last four starts. Shesterkin has won nine out of his last 10 games and allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his last 12 starts.
Among NHL goaltenders with a minimum of 10 starts, Shesterkin ranks among the best in several categories:
Save % (.938) - 1st
GAA (2.03) - 2nd
Shutouts (3) - T-3rd
Wins (18) - 7th
KREIDING HIGH
Chris Kreider continues to score goals as he has found the back of the net in three-straight games (4G), has points in six of his last eight games (6G-3A) and seven of his last 10 games (7G-3A). Kreider has six goals in his last seven games.
Kreider's 25 goals this season are tied for the third-most in the NHL:
Alex Ovechkin - 27
Leon Draisaitl - 26
Chris Kreider - 25
Auston Matthews - 25
His 12 power play goals the second-most in the league and his 17 power-play points are tied for the fifth most in the league. Kreider is three goals from tying his career-high of 28 (2016-17, 2018-19).
FOX TROT
Adam Fox is coming off his seventh career three-point game (2G-1A) and first career multi-goal game on Wednesday against Toronto. Fox has the third most assists in the NHL (35) and leads all defensemen in that category. His 42 points are tied for second among NHL defensemen.
Fox is the first Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 to reach the 40-point mark in 40 games played or fewer. Fox became the third different defenseman in franchise history with 35 or more assists through 40 games played in a season, joining Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov.
Fox has recorded nine assists in his last eight games and has points in five of his last seven games (2G-7A).
Fox has 12 multi-point games this season, the most among NHL defensemen.
PANARIN WITH THE POINTS
Artemi Panarin has recorded multi-point games in back-to-back games (2A in each) and has points in four of his last six games (1G-6A). He has 17 points (4G-13A) in his last 13 games.
Panarin has notched 12 multi-point games this season and since 2019-20, has registered 59 multi-point games, the fourth-most in the NHL:
Connor McDavid - 77
Leon Draisaitl - 73
Nathan MacKinnon - 60
Artemi Panarin - 59
Brad Marchand - 58
THREE RANGERS SELECTED TO ASG
Forwards Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and defenseman Adam Fox were selected to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Vegas. Zibanejad was selected as the "Last Man In" fan vote but will not be attending the game.
POWER PLAY
PP Leaders:
Goals: Kreider (12)
Points: Kreider (17), Fox (17) PP TOI: Fox (130:20)
PP Shots: Zibanejad (40)
PENALTY KILL
PK Leaders:
SH Goals: Fox (1), Goodrow (1), Kreider (1)
SH Points: Fox (2), Zibanejad (2), Goodrow (2)
SH TOI: Goodrow (96:07)
SH Shots: Rooney (6), Goodrow (6) FIVE