Pregame Notes: Rangers at Coyotes

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers close out their west coast swing and March slate with a matchup in the desert against the Coyotes on Saturday afternoon (6:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts have nine games remaining in the regular season (6 at home, 3 on road).
• New York has wins in four-straight, six of its last seven games and points in 23 of its last 28 contests (21-5-2). The Blueshirts’ 49 wins and 102 points are the most in the NHL. The Rangers are one win from their sixth 50-win campaign in team history.
• 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.
• 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 23-11-4 for 50 points and have earned points in 12 out of their last 14 contests (10-2-2). The Rangers rank third in the NHL in road wins and road points.
• Against the Coyotes, the Rangers have earned at least one point in 16 of their last 17 games against the Coyotes, dating back to Mar. 24, 2014 (14-1-2). New York has won six of its last seven road games against Arizona.
• This is the Blueshirts’ final regular season game against the Western Conference and come in with a 20-9-2 mark against such teams. Against Central Division teams, the Rangers are 10-4-1.
• New York has the NHL’s fourth best power play percentage (26.0) and fourth highest penalty kill percentage (83.5). Carolina is the only other team with both in the top-5.
• The Blueshirts have earned 24 comeback victories this season, the second most in the NHL, and 12 when trailing in the third period, tied for the most in the NHL.
• New York has accumulated 182 points from defensemen this season, tied for the third most 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 35-1-0. - The Rangers’ .889 win percentage (8-1) in the five-minute overtime session ranks first in the league.

RANGERS AND COYOTES CONNECTIONS

• Benoit Allaire was the Coyotes Goaltending Coach for seven seasons (1997-98 – 2003-04) before joining the Rangers organization.
• Rangers associate coach Phil Housley was an assistant coach for the Coyotes from 2019-2022.

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. The Rangers are one win away from 50 on the season.

PANARIN KEEPING IT 100

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.

Panarin has points in four-straight games (5G-4A). In Panarin’s last 20 games, he has 35 points (12G-23A), 10 games with 2+ points and seven games with 3+ points

Against Colorado on Thursday, Panarin notched his 60th assist of the season, becoming the third player in franchise history (Jaromir Jagr - 2005-06 and Jean Ratelle - 1971-72 )to have 40-plus goals and 60-plus assists in a season.

On Tuesday, Panarin (339 GP) also reached 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 (103) and sixth in the NHL with a career-best 43 goals.

He has notched a point in 58 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 points in eight of his last nine games (5G-7A) and has multiple points in three of his last four contests.

He has 23 points (7G-16A) in his last 20 games and 25 points (7G-18A) in his last 22 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 348 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 16 games (since Feb. 12), Igor Shesterkin has posted a 12-3-1 record and three shutouts. He has allowed one or fewer goals in seven of his last 16 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 scored his 34th goal of the season on Thursday and 106th power play goal of his career, tying Brian Leetch for the third most in franchise history. He has points in nine of his last 14 contests (5G-7A) and 18 points (10G-8A) in his last 20 games.

Kreider is one goal away from 300 in his career and could be the third player in franchise history to notch the feat (Rod Gilbert - 406, Jean Ratelle - 336).

Since the 2021-22 season, Kreider’s 122 goals rank seventh in the NHL and in that same time frame, his 48 power play goals rank third.

This season, Kreider has changed the Rangers record books:

• Played in his 800th career game on Mar. 16, becoming the 10th skater in franchise history to reach the number
• 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 nine points in his last five games (1G-8A), points in 12 of his last 14 games (5G-13A) and points in 17 of his last 20 games (10G-17A). He has set a career-high in assists (48) and his 73 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 (59.2).
• Alexis Lafreniere has established his career-high in goals (22), has points in six of his last eight games (4G-4A) and 15 points in his last 19 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 10 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.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies and sixth in the NHL in hits with 229.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 46-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.