Rangers at Islanders: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers will matchup against the New York Islanders on Thursday evening at UBS Arena (7:30 PM ET - TV: MSG - Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). After this, the Rangers will have three games (one at home, two on the road) left in the regular season.

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers will matchup against the New York Islanders on Thursday evening at UBS Arena (7:30 PM ET - TV: MSG - Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). After this, the Rangers will have three games (one at home, two on the road) left in the regular season.
• This season, the Rangers are 3-0 against the Islanders and have won seven of their last 10 contests. On the road against the Islanders, the Blueshirts have points in six of its last 10 (5-4-1).
• The Rangers currently hold their highest faceoff win percentage (53.9) in a season since the league began tracking during the 1997-98 season.
• The Rangers rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.9) and have been 50 percent or better in 56 of 78 games this season (71.8%), including 26 of their last 33 games.
• Vincent Trocheck (59.7) and J.T. Miller (58.6) currently rank first and third in faceoff percentage among all NHL skaters who have taken 1,000 or more faceoffs.
• The Blueshirts lead the NHL in shorthanded goals with 16. The 16 shorthanded goals are second most in franchise history for a single season.
• The Blueshirts rank eighth in the NHL in goals scored (133) since Jan. 2, and the 20 games in which the Rangers have scored four or more goals ranks tied for second in the NHL.
• Ten different Rangers have scored 10 or more goals with the team, tied for the fifth most in the NHL.
• The Rangers have posted eight shutouts this season as a team, tied for the fourth most in the NHL, and their most since 2021-22 (9).
• Since Feb. 1, Will Cuylle, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck are three of 11 players in the NHL with 5+ goals, 10+ points and 65+ hits.
• The Rangers have had 15 players score five or more goals this season, tied for the sixth most in the NHL. Thirty one different players have recorded at least one point for the Blueshirts.
• New York defensemen have accumulated 142 assists this season, ranked tied for sixth most in the NHL.
• The Blueshirts rank fifth in the NHL in total hits (1,975).
• When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 24-4-4 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 29-4-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 29 of 36 victories this season.
• Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 67-4-0 record in 71 regular season games in which they have allowed two goals or fewer (not counting team goals awarded for shootout win).

RANGERS AND ISLANDERS CONNECTIONS

• Rangers defenseman Calvin de Haan was drafted by the Islanders in 2009 and played 304 games with the team, registering 81 points (12G-69A).
• Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette began his head coaching career with the Islanders, heading the team from 2001-02 – 2002-03.
• Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca played for the Islanders from 2001-02 to 2003-04.
• Islanders forward Anthony Duclair was drafted by the Rangers in 2013 and played one season for the team (2014-15).
• Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo played parts of four seasons with the Rangers (2017-18 – 2020-21).
• Goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Illya Sorokin are close friends, growing up together in Russia.

POINT PER-GAME PANARIN

Artemi Panarin has points in 16 of his last 19 games (12G-13A) and 32 points in his last 29 games (14G-18A). Since March 1, Panarin's 12 goals and 25 points both rank tied for the sixth most in the NHL.

In the month of March, Panarin's 10 goals rank tied for third in the NHL.

Panarin secured his fifth 80-point season with New York, tying Mark Messier for the most in team history.

He is the only active undrafted player with 300 goals in his career.

Panarin has recorded his fifth career 30-goal season and second consecutive. He is the first Ranger since Jaromir Jagr (2005-07) with 30-plus goals and 40-plus assists in back-to-back seasons. His five 30-goal seasons rank tied for 11th in the NHL since 2015-16.

Panarin has also notched his fifth 70-point season with the Rangers, tying Mika Zibanejad and Mark Messier for the fifth most in franchise history. He has reached the 40-assist mark for the 10th consecutive campaign, the most among active players and tied for the sixth most consecutive by an undrafted player in NHL history.

He collected his sixth three-point game (1G-2A) of the season against Minnesota and his 60th since the 2019-20 season, the fifth most in the NHL.

Among Rangers skaters, Panarin ranks first in goals (35), assists (49), points (84), power play goals (8), power play points (24) and shots (227).

Panarin has at least one point in 55 of his 76 games (72.4%) this year. Since 2023-24, he has points in 122 of 158 games, the third most in the NHL.

Since the beginning of last season, his 204 points (84G-120A) rank sixth in the NHL.

Going back further, among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, Panarin has the fourth most assists (565) and fifth most points in the NHL (865).

MILLER TIME

J.T. Miller has recorded points in seven of his last eight contests (4G-6A) and 28 points (11G-17A) in 28 games with the Blueshirts, including nine multi-point games.

Since Feb. 1 (his NYR debut), Miller’s nine multi-point games are tied for the eighth most in the NHL.

Since his first game with New York, he ranks second in goals (11) and points (28), and third in assists (17)). His 74 hits rank tied for second on the team since his acquisition.

This season, among all skaters who've taken 1,000 or more faceoffs, Miller ranks third in faceoff percentage (58.6). Since the start of his career, he reached his second highest faceoff percentage this season.

Since the 2021-22 season, Miller is the only player in the NHL to have recorded 300 or more points, as well as 600 or more hits. In that same time frame, he is one of 16 skaters to have three or more 50-plus assist seasons, and his 346 points are tied for 13th most in the NHL.

TROCHECK IN THE CIRCLE

Among skaters who've taken 1,000 or more faceoffs, Vincent Trocheck leads the NHL in faceoff percentage (59.7) and overall his 881 faceoff wins rank third in the league.

Since 1997-98, Trocheck's 881 faceoff wins are ranked tied for fourth most among Rangers skaters for a single season, tying himself in back-to-back seasons. He became the first Ranger to take at least 13 faceoffs in a game and win every single one of them since the NHL began tracking.

He has points in eight of his last 13 games and 15 points in his last 18 games (6G-9A). Going back further, he has 21 points in his last 26 games (8G-13A).

On the Blueshirts, Trocheck ranks second in goals (23), fifth in points (53) and fifth in assists (30). His 191 shots are the second most on the team. It is Trocheck’s seventh 20-goal season of his career.

Trocheck ranks eighth among NHL forwards in average ice time (21:16).

ADAM’S APPLES

Adam Fox has recorded points in 12 of his last 18 games (6G-11A) and has 23 points (7G-16A) in his last 24 games. His 48 assists rank tied for sixth among NHL defensemen and his 16 multi-point games rank tied for seventh among NHL blueliners.

On March 20, Fox notched his 300th career assist, tying Ray Bourque (419 GP) for the seventh fewest games to 300 career assists by a defenseman in NHL history. The only blueliners to reach the mark faster are Bobby Orr (346 GP), Brian Leetch (368 GP), Quinn Hughes (376 GP), Paul Coffey (377 GP), Cale Makar (378 GP) and Gary Suter (400 GP).

He is the fourth defenseman in Rangers history to reach the milestone, joining Brian Leetch (741), Ron Greschner (431) and James Patrick (363).

Fox has recorded the fifth 40-assist season of his career, tying James Patrick for the second most in team history among defensemen. Fox became the fifth skater – and first defenseman – to record five straight 40-assist seasons with the Rangers and became the fourth U.S-born defenseman in NHL history to post a run of that length.

TOO COOL

Will Cuylle has points in six of his last 13 games (1G-5A) and 12 points (5G-7A) in his last 23 games. Cuylle ranks fifth on the Rangers in goals (18).

Cuylle's 290 hits are the fourth most in the NHL. Against Philadelphia, he surpassed Ryan Callahan (285) for the most hits among Rangers in a single season since the NHL began tracking hits during the 2005-06 season.

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider sits one power play goal away from setting the franchise record and surpassing Camille Henry's 116.

He ranks third on the Rangers with 21 goals this season, with six of his 21 goals being game-winning tallies. Scoring his 20th goal of the season against Minnesota, he became the second Ranger in team history (12 - Rod Gilbert) to have 10+ seasons with 20 or more goals.

His career total of 50 GWGs are the second most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert’s 52 and he is the eighth active American skater to score 50 career game-winning goals.

Since 2021-22, Kreider’s 13 shorthanded goals are the most in the NHL. His 13 career shorthanded goals are fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list. The total is the third-most shorthanded goals among active American players behind Cam Atkinson (19) and Blake Coleman (17).

Also since 2021-22, his 58 power play goals rank fifth in the NHL.

CAREER HIGHS

So far this season, seven Rangers have recorded career highs in goals, six have set career highs in assists and six have notched career highs in points.

Goals:

Will Cuylle (18), Jonny Brodzinski (11), Braden Schneider (6), Will Borgen (5), Adam Edstrom (5), Matt Rempe (2) and Urho Vaakanainen (2).

Assists:

Will Cuylle (22), Braden Schneider (15), Sam Carrick (12), Zac Jones (10), Adam Edstrom (4) and Matt Rempe (3).

Points:

Will Cuylle (40), Braden Schneider (21), Urho Vaakanainen (15), Zac Jones (11), Adam Edstrom (9) and Matt Rempe (5).

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• K’Andre Miller’s 44 takeaways are ranked tenth most among NHL defensemen. He is one of three players (Weegar and Coyle) in the NHL with 100 or more hits and 40 or more takeaways.
• Among NHL skaters with an average of 11:3 of ice time or fewer, Jonny Brodzinski's 11 goals are most in the NHL.
• Braden Schneider is one of seven NHL players with 130+ hits and 130+ blocked shots and the only one who averages 18 minutes or less of ice time per game.
• The Rangers have posted a 67-11-4 record in the 82 regular season games where Alexis Lafrenière has scored a goal in his NHL career. Lafreniere has seven points (2G-5A) in his last 11 games.