NYR vs. CBJ - DL Tune In - 2568X1444

The New York Rangers return home for the first game of a back-to-back set, a Metro Division clash with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at MSG (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

  • The Blueshirts will close the month of January with home games in five of their next six contests.
  • New York has points in six-straight games (4-0-2) and in seven of its last eight (5-1-2) contests. Since Jan. 2, the Rangers’ 12 points rank tied for third in the NHL and their 28 goals are tied for the second most.
  • Against the Blue Jackets, the Rangers have won five of their last seven contests and have won three in a row at home against them.
  • The Blueshirts rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.6) and have been 50 percent or better in 30 of 44 games this season (68.1 percent).
  • The Rangers have scored a shorthanded goal in back-to-back games and the team’s seven shorthanded tallies rank third in the NHL (FLA - 11, TBL - 8).
  • The Blueshirts have had 26 unique point getters this season, tied for the highest amount in the NHL.
  • Four of New York’s last five games have been decided by one goal. The Rangers have earned 32 wins decided by a margin of one goal dating back to last season, tied with Dallas for the most among all teams.
  • Jonathan Quick is one win away from being the 15th goaltender, and first American-born netminder, to reach 400 career victories.
  • When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 12-2-2 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 18-2-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 18 of 21 victories this season.
  • Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 56-2-0 record in 58 regular season games in which they have allowed two goals or fewer (not counting team goals awarded for shootout win).
  • On the year, New York is 13-2-1 when leading after one period and 16-1-1 when leading after the second period.

RANGERS AND BLUE JACKETS CONNECTIONS

  • Rangers forward Artemi Panarin played two seasons with the Blue Jackets (2017-18 and 2018-19).
  • Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca finished out his career with the Blue Jackets, playing two seasons with the team (2007-08 – 2008-09). Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson played 13 games for the Blueshirts during the 2020-21 season.
  • Columbus’ Senior Advisor John Davidson served as the Rangers President for two seasons (2019-2021).
  • Director of Hockey Operations for Columbus, Rick Nash, played parts of six seasons with the Rangers (2012-13 – 2017-18).

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider, with 115 career power play goals, sits one power play goal away from tying Camille Henry for the most in franchise history. Kreider has three goals in his last five contests.

He ranks tied for second on the Rangers with 14 goals this season, with five of his 14 goals being game-winning tallies. His career total of 49 GWGs are the second most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert’s 52.

Over the course of his career, Kreider has scored 15 go-ahead goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation, which is the most in Rangers franchise history. The only active players with as many tallies are Steven Stamkos (18), Alex Ovechkin (16), Sidney Crosby (15) and Evgeni Malkin (15).

Kreider has 100 regular season goals on tips/deflections in his NHL career (92 tipped, 8 deflected). No NHL player has more since Kreider’s first NHL regular season game in 2012-13 (Pavelski is second - 96).

Kreider has 41 career multi-goal games, one shy of tying Camille Henry (42 GP) for the sixth most in Rangers history.

With six more goals, Kreider will become the second player in franchise history to have 10 or more 20-plus goal seasons (Gilbert - 12).

Since 2021-22, Kreider’s 11 shorthanded goals are the most in the NHL. His 11 career shorthanded goals are tied with Walt Tkaczuk and Mika Zibanejad for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time list. In that same span, his 57 power play goals rank tied for third in the NHL.

ADAM’S APPLES

Adam Fox has points in four of his last six games (1G-5A) and seven assists in his last 10 games.

Fox’s 32 assists this season are tied for the sixth most among NHL defensemen. He is the first defenseman in franchise history to start his career with six consecutive 30-point seasons.

Since making his NHL debut in 2019-20, Fox has been one of the best blueliners in the NHL.

Fox is three points away from tying Harry Howell for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time points list among defensemen.

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin has a team-leading 19 goals and 47 points, has points in seven of his last 10 games (4G-6A) and 14 of his last 20 games (7G-14A). He is one assist away from surpassing Steve Vickers (586) for the ninth most in franchise history.

He has at least one point in 30 of 42 games this year and dating back to last season, he has points in 97 of 124 games. The only NHL players who have tallied a point in more games over the span are Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (105) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (103).

Panarin has 145 multi-point games since joining the Rangers in 2019-20. Only Connor McDavid (210), Leon Draisaitl (181), Nathan MacKinnon (174) and David Pastrnak (150) have more many during that span. His 145 multi-point games are the eighth most in franchise history.

Panarin is the franchise’s all-time leader in points per game (1.30) and assists per game (0.87).

Among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, Panarin has the fourth most assists (541) and fifth most points in the NHL (822).

TROCHECK IN THE CIRCLE

Vincent Trocheck ranks third in the NHL in faceoff percentage (60.2) and faceoff wins (524).

Trocheck has points in four of his last six games (4G-2A), 11 points in his last 13 games (6G-5A), and 17 points (8G-9A) in his last 20 games.

On the Blueshirts, Trocheck ranks tied for second in goals (14), fourth in assists (15) and third in points (29). His 117 shots are the second most on the team.

Trocheck ranks fifth among NHL forwards in average ice time (21:45). He is the only NHL forward averaging at least 16:00 of even strength ice time, 3:00 of PP ice time, and 2:00 of SH ice time per game this season.

SHESTY’S SAVES

Igor Shesterkin is 3-0-1 in his last four starts. He has 14 wins this season and has allowed two or fewer goals in all but two of his victories. In his last 13 starts, dating back to Dec. 6, Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals in seven of them.

Shesterkin has made 40 more saves on four occasions this season. When he makes 40 or more saves in a game over his career, the Rangers are 14-2-1.

Since the beginning of last season, the 24 games in which Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals rank tied for second among NHL goaltenders.

Dating back to the 2021-22 season, Shesterkin has ranked among the best in the NHL.

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has points in six of his last eight games (2G-4A).

Zibanejad (238) is two goals away from tying Brian Leetch (240) for the 10th most in franchise history. The list is topped by Rod Gilbert (406). When he scores a goal this year, the Rangers are 7-1-0.

He has recently notched career milestones:

  • Tallied his 400th career assist on Jan. 5, becoming the third active Swedish player to reach the mark (Others: E. Karlsson and V. Hedman)
  • Recorded his 700th career point on Jan. 2, becoming the 15th Swedish player in NHL history with 700 career points and just the third active (Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman).

TOO COOL

Will Cuylle has established a career-high of 24 points (11G-13A) and on the Blueshirts he ranks tied for first in plus/minus (+6).

His team-leading 158 hits rank sixth in the NHL.

Cuylle required the fewest games (23 GP) to 20 points in a season by a Rangers player under the age of 23 since Alex Kovalev (20 GP in 1995-96).

Since making his NHL debut in 2019-20, Fox has been one of the best blueliners in the NHL.

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

  • Reilly Smith has recorded a point in five of his last eight games (2G-3A) and has 21 points on the year (9G-12A). The Blueshirts are 16-3-0 this season when he notches a point and 8-1-0 when he scores a goal.
  • Filip Chytil has points (4G-2A) in five of his last seven contests dating back to Dec. 30.
  • Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle are two of nine NHL players with 10+ goals and 135+ hits.
  • The Rangers have posted a 64-11-3 record in the 78 regular season games which Alexis Lafrenière has scored a goal in his NHL career.