Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Lightning 12.31.21

TONIGHT'S GAME
RANGERS VS. LIGHTNING
All-Time: 49-41-5-8 (27-19-2-5 at home; 22-22-3-3 on the road)
2021-22:
Dec. 31 at TBL
Jan. 2 vs. TBL
Mar. 19 at TBL
2019-20:
- The Rangers and Lightning split the season-series two years ago, with New York winning 4-1 on Oct. 29, 2019 at MSG and Tampa Bay winning 9-3 on Nov. 14, 2019 in Tampa. - Filip Chytil had three goals/points in two games against the Lightning while Artemi Panarin had three assists/points.

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS VS. LIGHTNING
Ryan Strome - 19 GP, 4G-7A-11P - Strome has points in four of his past six games (2G-3A) against Tampa Bay. Strome has two career multi-point games against the Lightning and at least one point in nine of 19 career games against the team.
Mika Zibanejad - 24 GP, 2G-7A-9P - Zibanejad has three points (1G-2A) in his past two games against the Lightning and has a point in four of his past six games (1G-4A) against Tampa Bay.
Jacob Trouba - 13 GP, 3G-5A-8P - Trouba has seven points (3G-4A) in his last eight games against the Lightning. Trouba is looking for his first points against them as a Ranger.
Goalies vs. TBL
Igor Shesterkin (0 GP)
Alexandar Georgiev (1-1-1, .890 SV%, 3.76 GAA)
Keith Kinkaid (2-3-1, .882 SV%, 3.70 GAA)
RANGERS AND LIGHTNING CONNECTIONS
AULD LANG SYNE
Tonight will be the Rangers' 88th and final game in the 2021 calendar year. All the following stats are through games on Dec. 30.
The year saw New York finish in the top-10 in several categories throughout the NHL, including:
GA/GP (2.70) - 10th
PP% (22.1) - T-8th
PK% (83.1) - 5th
Hits (2,092) - 8th
Blocked Shots (1,239) - 5th
Takeaways (605) - T-7th
Individually, 2021 saw Adam Fox win the Norris Trophy after a stellar 2020-21 season. Fox heads into the final game of the year with 10 goals and 68 assists for 78 points in 86 games. His 68 assists are the fourth most (tied) in the NHL and lead all d-men. Fox's 78 points are tied with Victor Hedman for the most among NHL d-men in 2021.
Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 93 points (27G-66A) in 72 games this calendar year, his 1.29 points per game average is fifth in the NHL since the beginning of last season.
NOT NINETEEN FOREVER
The Rangers are searching for win No. 20 on the year (19-8-4), which would make them the sixth team in the NHL with 20 or more wins. New York has wins in nine of their last 14 games, 13 of their last 19 games and points in 17 of their last 23 games (14-6-3). The Rangers have at least one point in 23 of their 31 games this season.
With a win tonight, Head coach Gerard Gallant can earn his 20th win with the Rangers in his 32nd game with the franchise. Only Mike Keenan reached the mark in fewer contests: 29 GP (20-6-3) in 1993-94.
RANK AND FILE
In the NHL, the Blueshirts rank:
MULTI-POINT MIKA
Mika Zibanejad has recorded three-straight multi-point games, recording one goal and one assist in each of the three games. Zibanejad has points in four of his last six games (4G-3A).
This is the fourth time in his career, Zibanejad has notched a multi-point game in three-straight games:
Dec. 15-29, 2021 - 3G-3A - 3 GP
Dec. 12-16, 2019 - 4G-2A - 3 GP
Jan. 31-Feb. 4, 2019 - 4G-4A - 3 GP
Mar. 12-17, 2018 - 4G-3A - 3 GP
In addition, the Rangers are 14-1-4 in games when Zibanejad has a point.
SHESTY CHASING 40 WINS
With a win tonight, Shesterkin can earn his 40th career win in only his 67th career game. Shesterkin would join Gilles Villemure (1964-72) as the only Rangers goaltenders to reach the feat. Only 25 goaltenders in NHL history have won 40 games in 67 or fewer contest, with the most recent nine goaltenders being:
Shesterkin has wins in four of his last five starts and seven of his last nine starts.
ARTEMI POINTARIN
Artemi Panarin continues to post points as he has tallied five multi-point efforts in his 11 games. Since 2019-20, Panarin has 57 multi-point games, the third-most in the NHL in that span. Panarin leads the Rangers with 35 points, tied for the eighth-most in the NHL. Panarin has recorded 12 points (4G- 8A) in his last eight games and has points in eight of his last 11 games (6G-10A).
Panarin has tallied at least 35 points through his first 30 games of the season for a third straight campaign. Prior to 2019-20, the last Rangers skater to record more points through his first 30 contests was Marian Gaborik in 2009-10 (23-19-42 in 30 GP).
BRINGING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD
No team has played more road games than the Rangers this season (18) and only Carolina and Calgary have won more road games than New York's 11. With a 11-5-2 road record, including wins in five of their last seven road games, the Rangers have tied the 2011-12 team for the most road points (24) through 31 games in franchise history.
Adam Fox's 18 road assists lead the NHL while his 19 points are tied for the eighth most on the road in the league. Chris Kreider's 11 road goals are tied for the fifth most in the NHL.
AND WE DANCED, AND WE KREID, AND HAD A REALLY, REALLY GOOD TIME
With a late goal against Florida on Wednesday, Chris Kreider surpassed Don Maloney (195) for the 12th most goals in team history. Kreider's 19 goals are the fourth-most in the NHL and his 11 power-play goals are second to Leon Draisaitl's 13.
In his last three games, Kreider has two goals and four assists for six points.
Kreider is the fourth Ranger (Jagr, Hadfield, Dionne) to score 11 power-play goals through the first 30 games of a season and the first Ranger since Rick Nash in 2014-15 to record 19 or more goals through 31 games.
NOTHING BUT NORRIS
Adam Fox has recorded an assist in three of his last six games (4A) and 10 of his last 14 games. Fox has a point in 17 of the Rangers' 19 wins (17-2-3 in games he has a point). Fox's 26 assists are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL and are tied for the most among defensemen. Fox's 31 points are second behind Victor Hedman for the most among league d-men.
Fox's 13 power-play points are tied with Roman Josi for the most among defensemen in the league.
DEFENDING CHAMPS
The Rangers play the defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time this season. New York has earned at least one point in eight of their last nine first games against the previous year's champion (6-1-2).
SPECIAL TEAMS
New York and Anaheim are the only two teams that have a power play and penalty kill ranked in the top-six in the NHL.
POWER PLAY
PENALTY KILL
- New York is 77-for-91 (84.6%) on the penalty kill this season, fifth-best in the NHL. - The Blueshirts have been perfect on the PK in five of their last six games and 11 of their last 13 games. - The Rangers are 16-2-2 in games this season where they have not allowed a power play goal.