Rangers at Canadiens: Pregame Notes

RANGERS RUNDOWN

The New York Rangers head to Montreal for the back-end of their first Canadian road trip of the season to face the Canadiens on Saturday (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880AM).

Against Montreal, the Blueshirts have points in seven-consecutive games (5-0-2) and 12 of their last 15 contests (10-3-2) dating back to Nov. 2019. The seven-game point streak is the longest for New York against the Canadiens since 2000-01 - 2001-02 (8 GP) and third longest in the series history.

The Rangers have allowed the fewest goals per-game in the NHL this season with a 1.50 mark. The Blueshirts’ nine goals allowed on the year are the fifth fewest in the NHL.

New York has allowed four goals this season at 5-on-5, tied for the second fewest in the NHL. The Rangers have played two more games than the other four teams who have allowed four or fewer 5-on-5 goals.

Artemi Panarin ranks fifth in the NHL in road points since 2021-22 with 199. Since 2015-16, his 12 assists on the road against the Canadiens are tied for third most among all NHL skaters.

On the road against the Canadiens since 2015-16, J.T. Miller’s 16 points are tied for eighth most among all NHL skaters.

Thus far this season, the Rangers rank second in hits (150) and takeaways (31), and are ranked fourth in blocked shots (82). Through the first six games of the season, the nine goals the Rangers have allowed are the fewest for the team since 1970-71 - The Rangers have a plus-22 shot differential in the second period, the third highest in the NHL.

Through the first six games of the season, the Blueshirts’ faceoff percentage of 54.9% is ranked fifth in the league.

The Rangers have started the season 11-for-12 on the penalty kill. Since 2023-24, they have the third best PK% in the league (82.6).

Conor Sheary is set to play in his 600th career NHL game.

RANGERS AND CANADIENS CONNECTIONS

Montreal’s Executive VP of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton was GM of the Rangers from 2015-2021 and was a part of the Rangers organization from 2007-2021.

Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis played for the Rangers from 2013-14 – 2014-15.

Rangers Director of New York Rangers Goaltending Benoit Allaire served as Goaltending Coach with the Canadiens for one season (1996-97).

TEAM NOTES

ROAD RANGERS

On the road this season, the Rangers are 2-0-1 with a 11-3 goal differential. Their 11 goals on the road is tied for second most in the league, Since the 2021-22 season, on the road, the Rangers lead the NHL in points (211) and rank second in wins (96). In that same time span, the Rangers are 96-52-19 on the road.

SHESTY’S SAVES

Igor Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals in all five starts this season, including one or fewer goals in each of his first four starts. He was the first NHL goaltender to do so since Martin Jones in 2015-16.

Among all goaltenders this season with two or more starts, his 1.00 goals against average is the lowest in the league.

Since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, Shesterkin leads all NHL goaltenders with 72 games allowing one or fewer goals.

MILLER TIME

J.T. Miller was named the 29th captain in franchise history on Sept. 16, 2025.

Since Miller’s first game back with the Rangers on Feb. 1, 2025, he ranks first in assists (24), and second in goals (14) and points (38). Since his acquisition, his 13 multi-point games rank first on the team and tied for third in the NHL, and his 90 hits rank third on the team.

He is the only player in the NHL since the 2021-22 season to have recorded 300 or more points, as well as 700 or more hits. In that same time frame, he is one of 18 skaters to have three or more 50-plus assist seasons, and his 357 points are ranked 13th most in the NHL.

In 2024-25, among all NHL players who took 1,000 or more faceoffs in 2024-25, he tied for third in faceoff percentage (58.2) and reached his second highest faceoff percentage in a season since the start of his career.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

This season, Adam Fox will be raising money towards the Tackle ALS organization to help the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital develop therapies that repair or reverse damage caused by ALS and ultimately prevent the disease entirely. For every goal he scores, he will be donating $1,023 to Tackle ALS and for every assist, he will be donating $523. So far this season, Fox has donated $3,592 (3G-1A) to the cause. Fox welcomes all Rangers fans to join him in supporting the cause. For more information about Tackle ALS and how you can help, including making a donation, please visit https://tackleals.com/.

Fox became the ninth different defenseman in NHL history to record four consecutive 50-assist seasons in 2024-25 and became one of eight defensemen in Rangers history to record four or more seasons with 10 or more goals.

His 51 assists last season ranked second among the Blueshirts and tied for sixth among NHL defensemen. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, his five three-point games rank third and his 18 multi-point games tied for sixth among NHL blueliners.

Fox scored his 66th career goal against Pittsburgh on Oct. 11, tying Barry Beck for the eighth most goals by a defenseman in Rangers history.

BREAD WINNER

Artemi Panarin is the only active undrafted player with 300 career goals.

Since 2023-24, his 211 points (86G-125A) rank sixth in the NHL. In that same time frame, he has points in 126 of 165 games, the third most in the NHL.

Going back further, among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, he ranks fourth in assists (570) and fifth in points (872).

Panarin secured his fifth 80-point season with New York in 2024-25, tying Mark Messier for the most in team history, and his fifth 50-assist season, surpassing Messier and Rod Gilbert for the second most in franchise history.

Last season, Panarin ranked first in goals (37), assists (52), points (89), power play goals (8), power play points (25) and shots (235) among Rangers skaters, and had at least one point in 57 of his 79 games (72.2%).

He notched his fifth career 30-goal season, and second consecutive during the 2024-25 season. He is the first Ranger since Jaromir Jagr (2005-07) with 30-plus goals and 40-plus assists in back-to-back seasons. His 30-goal seasons are tied for 11th in the NHL since 2015-16.

TOO COOL

Will Cuylle’s 321 hits since 2024-25 ranks second in the NHL. Last season, he surpassed Ryan Callahan (285) for the most hits among Rangers in a single season since the NHL began tracking in 2005-06.