Rangers vs. Maple Leafs: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers open a four-game homestand and close out February, on Friday night when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG 2 - Radio: ESPN 1050 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The Blueshirts have earned consecutive wins and have victories in five of their last seven games, including three of their last four contests.
• The Rangers have recorded a point in 16 of their 22 games (13-6-3) since the beginning of the 2025 calendar year. Since Jan. 2, the club ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in wins (13) and sixth in points (29).
• Against the Maple Leafs, the Rangers have points in three-straight games (2-0-1) and seven of their last 10 matchups (5- 3-2).
• New York has won two of its last three home games and is 7-3-1 in its last 11 contests at MSG.
• Since Jan. 2, the Blueshirts rank third in the NHL in goals scored (75) and have scored three or more goals in 15 of 22 games, including 12 games with four or more tallies. New York has scored three or more goals in seven of its last 10 games.
• New York defensemen have notched a point on each of the team's 10 goals over the last two games. The Rangers' 109 assists by defensmen on the year rank tied for fifth in the NHL and the 129 points by blueliners is the ninth most.
• The Blueshirts rank fourth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage (82.4) and their nine shorthanded goals are the third most in the league.
• Jonathan Quick’s next game will be the 800th of his career. He would become the 17th netminder in NHL history to reach the feat and the second American-born (John Vanbiesbrouck - 882 GP).
• The Rangers rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.5) and have been 50 percent or better in 41 of 58 games this season (70.7 percent), including 11 of their last 14 games.
• The Rangers have had 25 different players score a goal this season, tied for the second most in the NHL, and 27 unique point getters, the fifth most in the league. In their last 14 games, 21 Rangers skaters have notched a point and 20 have scored a goal.
• When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 18-3-3 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 24-2-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 24 of 29 victories this season.
• Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 62-2-0 record in 64 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 16-3-2 when leading after one period and 20-1-2 when leading after the second period.

RANGERS AND MAPLE LEAFS CONNECTIONS

• Rangers skaters Sam Carrick, Will Cuylle, Brennan Othmann and Reilly Smith are natives of Ontario.
• Rangers forward Sam Carrick was drafted by the Maple Leafs in 2010 and played his first two NHL seasons with the team (2014-15, 2015-16).
• Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey played 30 games for Toronto in 2020-21, tallying seven points (5G-2A).
• Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca played for the Maple Leafs for one season (2006-07).
• Rangers associate coach Phil Housley played his final NHL game with the Maple Leafs in the 2002-03 season.
• Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves played parts of two seasons with the Blueshirts (2021-22 – 2022-23), recording 13 points (5G-8A) in 81 games.
• Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan played two seasons with the Rangers (2006-07 and 2007-08).
• Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is the son of former Ranger Michael Nylander, who played two seasons with the Blueshirts (2005-06 and 2006-07).

MILLER TIME

J.T. Miller has nine points (5G-4A) in eight games with the Blueshirts, including four multi-point games. He has 15 points (6G-9A) in his last 14 games.

Since Jan. 18, Miller's eight power play points rank tied for first in the NHL.

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 11 skaters to have three or more 50-plus assist seasons, and his 328 points are the 13th most in the NHL.

POINT PER-GAME PANARIN

Artemi Panarin has points in five of his last eight games (2G-5A) and nine points in his last 10 games (3G-6A). In his last 19 games, Panarin has recorded 20 points (7G-13A).

Panarin is one point shy of becoming the eighth player in Rangers history with at least four consecutive 60-point seasons. Jean Ratelle (8), Andy Bathgate (8), Rod Gilbert (7), Phil Esposito (5), Walt Tkaczuk (5), Kelly Kisio (4) and Mike Rogers (4) are the only ones to do so to date.

Among Rangers skaters, Panarin ranks first in goals (23), points (59), power play goals (8), power play points (20) and shots (164).

Panarin has at least one point in 39 of his 56 games (69.6%) this year. Since 2023-24, he has points in 106 of 140 games, the third most in the NHL.

Since the beginning of last season, his 179 points (72G-107A) rank sixth in the NHL.

Going back further, among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, Panarin has the fourth most assists (552) and fifth most points in the NHL (840).

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has 11 points in his last eight games (3G-8A) and 13 points in his last 13 games (4G-9A). When he scores a goal this year, the Rangers are 9-2-1 and 8-0-0 when has multiple points.

Since Feb. 1, Zibanejad ranks tied for eighth in the NHL in points (11) and tied for seventh in assists (8).

Zibanejad recently surpassed Brian Leetch (240) for the 10th most goals in franchise history. Zibanejad’s 105 power play goals with the Blueshirts rank fifth in franchise history and since 2016-17, the tallies are the sixth most in the league.

In January and February, Zibanejad tallied multiple career milestones: • Played in 900th career NHL game on Feb. 2 against Vegas.

• 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).

TROCHECK IN THE CIRCLE

Vincent Trocheck ranks third in the NHL in faceoff percentage (59.9) and faceoff wins (665).

He has six points in his last six games (2G-4A) and eight points in his last 10 games (3G-5A). On the Blueshirts, Trocheck ranks tied for second in goals (17), fourth in points (38) and assists (21). His 148 shots are the second most on the team.

Trocheck ranks 10th among NHL forwards in average ice time (21:11).

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

On February 22 in Buffalo, Chris Kreider tied Camille Henry for the most power play goals in franchise history with 116.

He ranks tied for second on the Rangers with 17 goals this season, with six of his 17 goals being game-winning tallies. 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 12 shorthanded goals are the most in the NHL. His 12 career shorthanded goals are tied for 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 tied for third in the NHL.

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle are two of five NHL players with 15+ goals, 25+ points and 150+ hits.
• Since 2021-22, Igor Shesterkin ranks tied for third in wins (129), tied for second in save percentage (.918) and fourth in GAA (2.49). This season, Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals in 10 of 20 wins and two or fewer goals in 17 of 20 wins.
• Will Cuylle ranks third in the NHL in hits (217).
• Braden Schneider is one of eight NHL players with 95+ hits and 100+ blocked shots and the only one who averages 18 minutes or less of ice time per game.
• K’Andre Miller’s 41 takeaways are the fourth most in the NHL among defensemen.
• The Rangers have posted a 66-11-4 record in the 81 regular season games where Alexis Lafrenière has scored a goal in his NHL career.
• The Blueshirts are 20-4-0 this season when Reilly Smith notches a point and 9-1-0 when he scores a goal.