Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Stars

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers host the Dallas Stars at Madison Square Garden, looking to build off a thrilling win in the Stadium Series (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
• New York has wins in a season-long, seven-straight games and points in nine of its last 10 games (8-1-1). It is the longest winning streak for the Rangers since Jan. 27-Feb. 17, 2023 and the last time the club had a winning streak of eight or more games was the 2015-16 season (9 GP).
• The Blueshirts’ 36 wins are tied for the second most in the NHL and their 75 points rank fifth in the league. Since January 27, the Rangers lead the NHL in wins, points, and goals per game (4.43).
• At home, the Rangers have 19 wins, tied for the second most in the NHL. New York will play 15 of their final 27 games this season on home ice.
• New York has the NHL’s fourth best power play percentage (25.6) and sixth best in penalty kill percentage (82.5). The Blueshirts have four power play goals in their last two games.
• Against Dallas, the Rangers have won three of their last four games and earned at least one point in seven of their last 11 games (5-4-2).
• The Blueshirts have 18 comeback wins this season and ninth when trailing in the third period, both tied for first in the NHL.
• In the second period, the Rangers’ plus-18 goal differential ranks third in the league.
• New York has six players (Kreider, Zibanejad, Panarin, Trocheck, Fox, Lafreniere) with 30 or more points and four players (Kreider, Panarin, Trocheck, Zibanejad) with 15-plus goals, tied for the fourth most in the NHL.
• In the last 23 games (since Dec. 27), Artemi Panarin (30 pts) and Vincent Trocheck (23 pts) have recorded a combined 53 points (24G-29A).
• When allowing three goals or fewer in a game this season, the Rangers have a 32-2-2 record.
• The Rangers’ 53.5 faceoff percentage is the fifth highest in the NHL. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent.
• New York has accumulated 138 points from defensemen this season, the third most in the NHL. - When scoring first, the Blueshirts have 23 wins, tied for the second most in the NHL.
• The Rangers’ .875 win percentage (7-1) in five-minute overtime session ranks first in the league.

RANGERS AND STARS CONNECTIONS

• Nils Lundkvist was drafted by the Rangers in the first round, 28th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Lundkvist played in 25 games for the Blueshirts in 2021-22, recording four points (1G-3A).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin tied his career-high in goals (32) when he scored the overtime winner in the Stadium Series. He has three-point games in his last two contests, points in seven of his last 10 games (5G-8A) and 24 points in his last 20 games (9G-15A). He has notched a point in 44 games this year, the second most in the NHL.

Panarin ranks tied for sixth in the NHL in goals (32) and tied for fifth in points (74).

He has reached 30 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career and is the only active undrafted player to accomplish the feat.

NEXT ON FOX

Adam Fox has six assists in his last two games and eight in his last four games. He also has points in eight of his last 11 games (1G-14A). Despite missing 10 games with injury, he ranks seventh among NHL defensemen in points (45).

With his 40th point of the season, he joined Phil Housley (1982-83 to 1992-93), Mark Howe (1979-80 to 1987-88) and Gary Suter (1985-86 to 1992-93) as the fourth U.S.-born defenseman to record at least 40 points in each of his first five seasons. He

Fox recorded his 30th assist of the season on Feb. 9 at Chicago and became the sixth player, second defenseman, in Rangers history to record 30 assists in each of his first five seasons with the franchise, joining Mark Messier (6), Phil Goyette (6), Artemi Panarin (5), Reijo Ruotsalainen (5) and Phil Esposito (5).

Since the 2019-20 season, Fox ranks fifth among NHL defensemen in points (280) and second in assists (236).

KREIDING HIGH

Chris Kreider has 28 goals this season, four in his last two games and five in his last four games. He has points in nine of his last 13 contests (8G-7A) and 11 of his last 16 games (8G-9A).

Since the 2021-22 season, Kreider’s 116 goals rank sixth in the NHL and in that same time frame, his 45 power play goals rank third.

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).

NEW YORK NETMINDERS

Igor Shesterkin has 22 win on the season and has earned points in five of his last six starts. Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals in 16 of his 22 wins. Shesterkin’s 21 wins rank sixth in the NHL.

Jonathan Quick has won four-straight starts, allowing two or fewer goals in three of them. Quick is the oldest goaltender in franchise history with a three-or-more game winning streak and the second active netminder with a run of that length at age 38 or older, joining Marc-Andre Fleury (7 GP & 3 GP in 2022-23).

Quick holds a 13-4-2 record this season. Among goaltenders with 18 or more starts, he ranks third in goals-against average (2.36) and tied for sixth in save percentage (.917). His 13 wins tie Dave Kerr, Lorn Chabot and Igor Shesterkin for the most wins through 20 career games with the Rangers.

He is one win away from tying Dominik Hasek for 15th most in NHL history (389) and three wins from tying Ryan Miller for the most wins among American-born goaltenders (391).

FORECHECK, BACKCHECK, TROCHECK

Vincent Trocheck ranks first in the NHL (min. 700 FO) in faceoff percentage (61.2) and is the only player in the NHL to have 45 or more points, 60 or more hits, and 40 or more blocked shots.

Trocheck has four points in his last two games (3G-1A) and 18 points in his last 19 games (9G-9A).

SLAP SHOTS

• Mika Zibanejad has points in nine of his last 13 games (4G-9A) and eight points (3G-5A) in his last seven games.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies and fifth in the NHL in hits with 178. He has a plus/minus rating of even or better in 45 of 55 games this season (45 games with a plus/minus rating of even or better are most on the Rangers and most among all NHL rookies). He also has points in four of his last seven games (2G-3A).
• Jacob Trouba’s 151 blocked shots are the third most in the NHL. Trouba is the only player in the NHL to have 125+ blocked shots and 125+ hits.
• Alexis Lafreniere has six points (3G-3A) in his last seven games.
• Jonny Brodzinski has points in four of his last five games (2G-2A) and has six points in his last seven games (3G-3A). His four goals match a career-high originally set in 2017-18 with Los Angeles.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 44-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.