Rangers vs. Wild: Pregame Notes

RANGERS RUNDOWN

The New York Rangers return to the Garden on Monday to face the Minnesota Wild for the first time this season (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network/NHL Network - Radio: ESPN 880AM).

The Rangers will hold their first Centennial theme night tonight as they celebrate the Birth of the Franchise era (1926-42). The Rangers are honoring their earliest teams in franchise history for the success they had and their role in establishing the Rangers’ reputation for being the “Classiest Team in Hockey” during a celebrated time in New York history.

Against the Wild, the Rangers have earned points in six-straight games (5-0-1) dating back to October 2022.

New York has won three-straight games and four of their last five at home against Minnesota.

At home this season, the Rangers are one of five teams with a 100.0 PK%.

The Rangers have allowed 1.71 goals per-game and have a team save percentage of .933, both the second-best marks in the NHL.

New York has allowed three or fewer goals in each of its first seven games of a season for the first time since the 2009-10 season (8 GP) and only the third time since 1974-75.

This season the Rangers have allowed six goals 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 six or fewer 5-on-5 goals.

The Rangers have a plus-3 goal differential on the season, but across the Rangers’ three wins this season, the team has outscored their opponent 14-4.

New York ranks tied for first in the NHL in third-period goal differential with a plus-5 mark.

The Blueshirts have a plus-20 shot differential in the second period, the fourth highest in the NHL.

Rangers defensemen are tied for the lead in scoring with five goals among all NHL teams.

Thus far this season, the Rangers rank second in takeaways (35) and third in hits (174).

The Rangers have started the season 12-for-14 on the penalty kill. Since 2023-24, they have the third best PK% in the league (82.5).

RANGERS AND WILD CONNECTIONS

Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy was drafted by the Wild in 2013 and played his first three seasons with the team.

The Rangers have two players that hail from Minnesota: Will Borgen (Moorehead) and Jonny Brodzinski (Ham Lake).

Wild forward Tyler Pitlick spent the 2024-25 season with the Rangers, collecting one goal and three assists for four points in 34 games.

Wild forward Vladimir Tarasenko skated in 31 games for the Blueshirts during the 2022-23 season, tallying eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points.

Wild forward Mats Zuccarello played parts of nine seasons with the Rangers (2010-11 – 2018-19), recording 352 points (113G-239A) in 509 games with the team.

The Wild have two players native to New York: Zach Bogosian (Massena) and Marcus Foligno (Buffalo).

TEAM NOTES

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 three 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

This season, J.T. Miller’s 69 face-off wins rank tied for fifth in the NHL.

Since Miller’s first game back with the Rangers on Feb. 1, 2025, he ranks second in goals (15), assists (24) in assists (24) and points (39). Since his acquisition, his 13 multi-point games rank first on the team and tied for fourth in the NHL, and his 92 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 358 points are tied for 12th most in the NHL.

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

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 leads NHL defensemen in goals (3) and is tied for third in points (6). His 167:40 minutes of ice time is the second most in the NHL and his seven takeaways are tied for the most in the league.

Since the start of the 2024-25 season, his five three-point games rank third and his 19 multi-point games rank sixth among NHL blueliners.

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 this season. 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 $4,638 (3G-3A) 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.

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

Since the beginning of the 2023-24 season, Artemi Panarin’s six four-point games are tied for fifth most in the NHL and his 22 games with three or more points are fifth most in the NHL. As a Blueshirt, his 17 four-point games are third most in team history.

His 215 points (87G-128A) rank sixth in the NHL since 2023-24. In that same time frame, he has points in 127 of 169 games, the third most in the NHL.

Going back further, among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, he ranks fourth in assists (573) and fifth in points (876).

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 25 hits this season is tied for ninth in the league and since 2024-25, his 326 hits 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.