Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Red Wings

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers finish off their three-game homestand with an Original Six matchup against the Detroit Red Wings (7:30 PM ET - TV: TNT, MAX - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
• The Blueshirts’ 15 wins are tied for the most wins in the NHL and their 31 points are tied for the second most. New York’s .775 points percentage leads the league.
• New York has wins in three of four, seven of its last nine games and points in 14 of its last 16 games (13-2-1).
• At home, the Blueshirts are 6-2-0 and their eight home games are tied for the fewest in the NHL thus far.
• On the year, New York is 8-2-0 against Eastern Conference opponents and 3-1-0 against Atlantic Division teams.
• The Rangers have the best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 55.7 percent mark and have been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 16 of 20 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent.
• The Rangers have earned at least one point in nine of his last 10 games against Detroit (7-1-2) and 16 of their last 18 games against the Red Wings, dating back to Jan. 22, 2017 (11-2-5 record). At MSG, the Blueshirts have earned a point in six-straight games against Detroit (4-0-2) and eight of their last nine home contests against the Red Wings (5-0-3).
• Tonight, Jacob Trouba is set to play in his 700th game and Erik Gustafsson is set to play in his 400th career game. Since his first season in the NHL, Trouba’s 1,473 hits rank fifth in the NHL.
• The Rangers have the NHL’s third best power play percentage (30.2) and have scored power play goals in 15 of their first 20 games. The Rangers’ 19 power play goals are tied for the fourth most in the league.
• The Blueshirts have allowed the third fewest GA/GP (2.45) in the NHL and the second fewest total goals (49) in the league.
• The Blueshirts are 12-2-1 when scoring the first goal of the game, the most such wins in the league, and have opened the scoring in 12 of their past 14 games. New York is 8-1-1 when leading after two periods.
• The Rangers are 15-for-16 on the PK over their last four games and their 86.2 PK% ranks seventh in the league.

RANGERS AND RED WINGS CONNECTIONS

• Jacob Trouba is a native of Rochester, Michigan, and he played hockey in Michigan with Compuware organization, the U.S. National Team Development Program (2010-11 and 2011-12), and the University of Michigan (2012-13). Trouba was a Red Wings fan growing up; he lists Nicklas Lidstrom as his hockey idol.
• Rangers assistant general manager Ryan Martin had a 16-year stint (2005-21) with the Red Wings, including 11 seasons (2010-21) as the team’s assistant general manager and eight seasons as the general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins (2013-21).
• Red Wings forward Andrew Copp played for the Rangers at the end of the 2021-22 season following his acquisition at the trade deadline. Copp finished with the second most points by an in-season acquisition in Rangers history, behind Steve Larmer in 1994 (16 PTS in 23 GP). Copp accumulated 32 points in 36 total games with the Rangers (8G-10A in 16 RS GP & 6G-8A in 20 PS GP).

RANGERS SINCE OCTOBER 21

Heading into a five-game west coast trip beginning on October 21, the Rangers were 2-2-0 and coming off a 4-1 loss on October 19 to the Predators on home ice.

Since then, the Blueshirts have responded with a 13-2-1 record for 27 points and in that span have put up some of the best numbers in the NHL.

KREIDING HIGH

Chris Kreider has a team-high 13 goals on the season, ranking tied for the sixth most in the league and has points in nine of his last 13 games (8G-6A).

Kreider is now two goals from matching Adam Graves for the third most in team history (280).

Kreider sits one power play goal away from becoming the fifth player in franchise history to reach 100 PPGs. Only 14 active players have 100 or more career power play goals.

His nine shorthanded goals since 2021-22 are the most in the NHL while his 41 power play goals in that span are the second most. In addition, his nine career SHGs rank tied for ninth with Mika Zibanejad for the most in team history.

At MSG in the regular season and playoffs combined, Kreider has scored 162 goals, the second most in history behind Rod Gilbert’s 165.

PANARIN ON A PATH

Artemi Panarin has 30 points (11G-19A) on the season and has notched a point in 17 of his 20 games this year. He is the first Rangers skater to record 30+ points in 20 or fewer games from the start of a season since Walt Poddubny during the 1987-88 season.

Panarin also points in each of his first eight games at Madison Square Garden this season. The only other Rangers players in the past 30 years to record a season-opening home point streak of at least eight games are Wayne Gretzky (10 GP in 1996-97), Jaromir Jagr (8 GP in 2005-06) and Brian Leetch (8 GP in 2000-01).

Panarin ranks among the best in the NHL in multiple categories.

NEW YORK NETMINDERS

As a team, the Blueshirts have the third highest (tied) save percentage in the NHL (.917) and third lowest GAA (2.41).

Igor Shesterkin has a 8-4-0 record on the year and has allowed one or fewer goals in a game five times this season. Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals on 42 occasions since the 2021-22 season, the most in the NHL. Since the 2021- 22 season, Igor Shesterkin leads the NHL with 82 wins and among goalies with 100 or more games, ranks first in save percentage (.924) and GAA (2.32).

Jonathan Quick is 6-0-1 to start 2023-24 and is the second Rangers netminder to begin his tenure by earning a point
in his first seven decisions, joining Eddie Mio in 1981-82 (5-0-2 in 7 GP). He has allowed one or fewer goals in three of those seven starts. Among NHL goaltenders who have made seven or more starts this season, Quick ranks third in save percentage (.930) and second in GAA (1.99). In addition, he is one of seven goaltenders with multiple shutouts this season.

SLAP SHOTS

• Mika Zibanejad has points in four-straight games (3G-2A) and two power play goals on the year. Since 2021-22, his 37 power play goals are tied for the third most in the NHL.
• Vincent Trocheck has points in seven of his past 10 games (4G-9A). Trocheck’s 16 points on the year (5G-11A) are the third most on the Blueshirts. Among NHL skaters with 300 or more faceoffs, Trocheck ranks first in faceoff percentage (63.4). On Monday night, Trocheck went 16-for-17 (94%) in the faceoff dot, the highest by a Rangers skater with 17 or more faceoffs since the NHL started tracking in 1997-98.
• Erik Gustafsson has points in nine of his past 10 contests (1G-10A). His 15 points (3G-12A) rank tied for fourth on the Rangers and his 12 assists rank second.
• Alexis Lafreniere has four goals in his last eight games and eight on the season - the third most on New York. His six goals at five-on-five are the second on the team behind Panarin’s eight.
• Jacob Trouba’s 70 blocked shots are the second most in the NHL.
• Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 50 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 231.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 52.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 40-11-6 when Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.