Pregame Notes: Rangers at Avalanche

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers head west for a two-game road stretch, beginning with a contest against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena (9:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts have 10 games remaining in the regular season.
• On Tuesday night, the Rangers became the first team in the NHL to clinch a spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the first team to reach the 100-point plateau. With a win in their 72nd game, the Rangers surpassed the 100-point threshold in the second fewest games (1971-72 - 67 GP) in team history.
• New York has wins in three-straight, five of its last six games and points in 22 of its last 27 contests (20-5-2). The Blueshirts’ 48 wins and 100 points are the most in the NHL.
• The Rangers have a league-high tying five players (Zibanejad, Kreider, Trocheck, Panarin, Fox) with 60 or more points this season. Tampa Bay also has the same amount.
• On the road, the Blueshirts are 22-11-4 for 48 points and have earned points in 11 out of its last 13 contests (9-2-2). The Rangers rank tied for second in the NHL in road wins and tied for third in points.
• New York has the NHL’s fourth (tied) best power play percentage (25.9) and fourth highest penalty kill percentage (83.3). Carolina is the only other team with both in the top-5.
• The Blueshirts have earned 23 comeback victories this season and 11 when trailing in the third period, both tied for the second most in the NHL.
• New York has accumulated 182 points from defensemen this season, the third most in the NHL.
• The line of Alexis Lafreniere, Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck have combined for 45 goals, the most of any line in the NHL.
• When scoring four or more goals, the Rangers are 28-0-1 and when allowing two or fewer goals, the team is 34-1-0. - The Rangers’ .889 win percentage (8-1) in the five-minute overtime session ranks first in the league.

RANGERS AND AVALANCHE CONNECTIONS

• Rangers President and GM Chris Drury played four seasons with Colorado (1998-99 – 2001-02), winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2001.
• Avs goaltender Alexandar Georgiev played the first five seasons of his career with the Rangers (2017-18 – 2021-22) before being dealt on July 7, 2022.
• Avs defensemen Jack Johnson played 13 games for the Rangers during the 2020-21 season.

ROLLING RANGERS

The Rangers clinched a playoff berth for the 63rd time in franchise history and third-straight season by way of being at the top of the NHL in multiple categories since the beginning of the season and especially the All-Star break.

PANARIN’S 100 POINTS

On Tuesday night, Artemi Panarin recorded his 100th point of the season, becoming the first Rangers skater to notch 100 points in a season since Jaromir Jagr (123 in 2005-06) and the seventh Ranger to reach the milestone. Panarin also joined Adam Oates (112 in 1993-94), Wayne Gretzky (102 in 1995-96 & 130 in 1993-94) and Martin St. Louis (102 in 2006-07) as the fourth undrafted player in the past 30 years with a 100-point campaign.

In Panarin’s last 19 games, he has 34 points (12G-22A), 10 games with 2+ points and seven games with 3+ points

On Tuesday, Panarin (339 GP) reach the 300 assist milestone with the Blueshirts, becoming the third player to register 300 career assists prior to his 400th game with the franchise (Mark Messier: 375 GP & Brian Leetch: 368 GP).

Panarin ranks fourth in points (102) and sixth in the NHL with a career-best 43 goals.

He has notched a point in 57 games this year, the fourth most in the NHL and his 30 multi-point games rank fifth in the league. He is one of five players in Rangers history to have 30 or more multi-point games in a season.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Adam Fox has a point streak of eight games (5G-7A) and has multiple points in three consecutive games. His point streak is the third longest of his career. With two points in his next contest, he’d become the first Rangers defenseman since Sergei Zubov in 1995 to have four-straight multi-point games.

He has 23 points (7G-16A) in his last 19 games and 25 points (7G-18A) in his last 21 games. He ranks seventh among NHL defensemen in points (63) and eighth in assists (48).

Fox’s 15 goals this season are a career-high. Fox tallied his 50th goal of his career on Saturday and among defensemen to debut with the Rangers, he is one six in franchise history to hit the mark in 350 games or fewer.

Fox sits two points from 300 points over his career with 347 games under his belt. Only 12 defensemen in NHL history have reached the feat in fewer than 350 games with only Brian Leetch (295 GP) doing so with the Rangers.

NEW YORK NETMINDERS

In his last 15 games (since Feb. 12), Igor Shesterkin has posted a 11-3-1 record and three shutouts. He has allowed one or fewer goals in seven of his last 15 contests.

Shesterkin has posted his third consecutive 30-win season (30-15-2). Only two other goaltenders in franchise history have had three 30-win campaigns in their career: Henrik Lundqvist (11) and Ed Giacomin (5).

Jonathan Quick has won seven of his last eight starts, allowing two or fewer goals in five of them. Among NHL goalies who have played 23 or more games this season, Quick ranks fifth in goals-against average (2.44) and tied for seventh in save percentage (.917).

Quick holds a 16-5-2 record this season. He is one win from surpassing Ryan Miller for the most wins among American- born goaltenders (392).

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider played in his 800th career NHL game on Mar. 16 at Pittsburgh, becoming the 10th skater in team history to reach the feat. His 298 goals were the second highest total by any Rangers player through their first 800 games with the franchise, trailing only Jean Ratelle (306).

Kreider has 33 goals this season. He has points in eight of his last 13 contests (4G-6A) and 16 points (9G-7A) in his last 19 games.

Since the 2021-22 season, Kreider’s 121 goals rank tied for sixth in the NHL and in that same time frame, his 47 power play goals rank third.

He is one power play goal from tying Brian Leetch (106) for the third most in franchise history. This season, Kreider has changed the Rangers record books:

• Surpassed Adam Graves for the third most goals in Rangers history (281)
• Surpassed Adam Graves for the 10th most points in team history (508)
• Recorded his 500th career point
• Surpassed Camille Henry for the fourth most road goals in franchise history (137) - Tied Bill Cook for the third most game-winning goals in franchise history (42)
• Became the fifth Ranger to tally 100 career power play goals
• Recorded his 166th career goal at MSG (regular season and playoffs) to surpass Rod Gilbert for the most in the building’s history
• Notched his ninth 20-goal campaign in his career. Only two players in franchise history have recorded as many: Rod Gilbert (12x) and Jean Ratelle (9x).

SLAP SHOTS

• Vincent Trocheck has eight points in his last four games (1G-7A), points in 11 of his last 13 games (5G-12A) and points in 16 of his last 19 games (10G-16A). He has set a career-high in assists (47) and his 72 points are second to his 75 he recorded in 2017-18 with Florida. He ranks second in the NHL (min. 700 FO) in faceoff percentage (59.4).
• Alexis Lafreniere has established his career-high in goals (22), has points in six of his last seven games (4G-4A) and 15 points in his last 18 games (7G-8A). The Blueshirts are 17-1-1 when he scores a goal this season.
• Mika Zibanejad has points in seven of his past nine games (5G-4A). Zibanejad scored his 100th power play goal with the Rangers on Tuesday, becoming the sixth member of the franchise to hit the milestone. He also tied Bill Cook for the 11th most goals in team history (228). He has double-digit power play goals for a seventh straight season. The only other player that has reached 10-plus power play goals in the last seven seasons is Steven Stamkos.
• Jack Roslovic has four points (1G-3A) in his last six games and 17 points (5G-12A) in his past 21 contests.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies and sixth in the NHL in hits with 228.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 46-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.