Pregame Notes: Rangers at Bruins

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers head to Boston to face the Bruins in the second half of a back-to-back (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). In the second half of back-to-back games this year, the Blueshirts are 3-0-0.
• The Rangers have 20 wins through 28 games, matching the 1993-94 team for the fewest games needed to reach 20 wins in franchise history. New York is the third team in the NHL and first in the Eastern Conference to reach the 20-win mark.
• The Blueshirts’ 20 wins are tied for the most in the NHL and their 41 points ranks tied for third in the league.
• On the road this year, New York is 10-4-1 for 21 points. The team’s .700 road point percentage ranks tied for third in the NHL.
• The Rangers have the best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 55.3 percent mark and have been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 22 of 28 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent.
• The Rangers have played more regular season games (667) and have earned more regular season wins (265) against the Bruins than against any other opponent in their 97-season history.
• The Rangers have the NHL’s second best power play percentage (30.7) and have scored power play goals in eight of their last 10 games and 21 of their first 28 games. The team’s 27 power play goals this year are tied for the fourth most in the NHL.
• The Blueshirts are 14-2-1 when scoring the first goal of the game, tied for the second most such wins in the league. New York is 11-1-1 when leading after two periods and 7-0-0 when tied after two frames.
• New York has allowed one or fewer goals 11 times this season, the most in the NHL.

RANGERS AND BRUINS CONNECTIONS

• Blake Wheeler broke into the league with Boston, skating from 2008-09 – 2010-11 with the team.
• Ryan Lindgren was selected by the Bruins in the second round (49th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
• Kevin Shattenkirk played two seasons with the Rangers (2017-18 and 2018-19)
• Jake DeBrusk is the son of Louie DeBrusk, who was selected by the Rangers in the third round (49th overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. Louie DeBrusk was traded by the Rangers to Edmonton as part of the transaction in which the Blueshirts acquired Mark Messier.
• Charlie McAvoy is a native of Long Beach, New York. He was a Rangers fan as a kid and idolized Brian Leetch. His sister is Rangers assistant sports scientist Kayla McAvoy.

KREIDING TO MAKE HISTORY

On Friday night, Chris Kreider scored two goals to surpass Adam Graves for the third most goals in Rangers history (281), recorded his 500th career point and became the fifth Ranger to tally 100 career power play goals.

Kreider became the 12th player to record 500 points with the franchise.
Kreider has 16 goals on the season, tied for the most on New York, and has 18 points in his last 21 games (11G-7A).

Only seven other active players have 100 power-play goals with their current franchise: Alex Ovechkin (300 w/ WSH), Steven Stamkos (200 w/ TBL), Evgeni Malkin (175 w/ PIT), Sidney Crosby (165 w/ PIT), Leon Draisaitl (133 w/ EDM), Anze Kopitar (115 w/ LAK) and David Pastrnak (105 w/ BOS).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin notched his 700th career point in his 617th career game on Tuesday night, making him the sixth fastest to reach the feat among active NHL skaters (Connor McDavid - 488 GP, Sidney Crosby 497 GP, Alex Ovechkin - 579 GP, Evgeni Malkin - 580 GP, Leon Draisaitl - 614 GP).

Panarin has 41 points (16G-25A) on the season, has notched a point in 23 of his 28 games this year, and has 10 points (4G- 6A) in his last six games.

Panarin ranks tied for third in the NHL in points, tied for ninth in goals, tied for eighth in assists, and tied for second in power play points (19).

BACK IN THE FOX HOLE

Adam Fox has assists/points in six of his last seven games (9A) and overall has points in 14 of 18 games this season (3G-17A). In the NHL among defensemen, Fox has the fourth most points per game (1.11).

On Friday, Fox recorded his 43rd multi-assist game of his NHL career and surpassed Reijo Ruotsalainen (42) for sole possession of fifth place on the franchise’s all-time list among defensemen.

Since his rookie season in 2019-20, Fox has been one of the best defensemen in the NHL.

SLAP SHOTS

• Mika Zibanejad has points in 11 of his last 12 contests (7G-8A). Since November 22, his seven goals and 14 points rank first on the Rangers. On Friday, he notched his 40th power play goal since 2021-22, the third most in the NHL in that span.
• Vincent Trocheck has 23 points (5G-18A) in his past 22 games. Trocheck’s 25 points on the year (6G-19A) and six multi- point games rank second on the Blueshirts. The team is 6-0-0 when he collects multiple points. Among NHL skaters with 300 or more faceoffs, Trocheck ranks first in faceoff percentage (63.3).
• Jonathan Quick is 9-0-1 on the season. Quick is the 11th goaltender in NHL history and first since Laurent Brossoit (WPG - 2018-19) to begin his tenure with a franchise with at least a point in each of his first 10 starts in a single season. In addition, he is the ninth different goaltender with a 10-game point streak at age 37 or older in NHL history. Among NHL goaltenders with 10-plus GS, Quick ranks fifth in save percentage (.926) and fourth in GAA (2.09).
• Jacob Trouba’s 88 blocked shots are the second most in the NHL.
• Jonny Brodzinski has six points (1G-5A) in nine games this season.
• Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 53 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 234.
• Jimmy Vesey has seven goals on the season, tied for the fifth most on New York, and a team-high four game-winning goals.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 74 and tied for 11th in the league in hits.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 41-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.