Pregame Notes: Rangers at Flames

RANGERS RUNDOWN 

• The New York Rangers continue their longest road trip (five games) of the season when they face the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome (9:45 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
• The reason the Blueshirts will start at 7:45 MDT/9:45 ET is because on Tuesday all 32 NHL teams will be in action, with each game starting at a different time.
• The Rangers rank second in the NHL with a 55.7 faceoff percentage (Montreal - 59.5). The team has been over 50 percent in draws in all but one game this season (Oct. 16 vs. ARI - 45.8).
• The Rangers have allowed the fewest shots per game in the NHL (23.8).
• According to NHL Edge, the Rangers have spent the second most percentage of time in the offensive zone in the NHL with a 44.5 percent clip and third fewest time in the defensive zone (37.8%).
• New York’s 2.40 GA/GP are the sixth fewest in the league.
• The Blueshirts’ 12 goals on the road are tied for the third most in the NHL.
• The Rangers are 1-0-0 against Pacific Division teams thus far. They had a 11-2-3 record last season against Pacific Division teams and overall against the Western Conference, New York had a 21-6-5 mark in 2022-23.
• On Saturday night, New York’s AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, became the ninth team in league history to win 1,000 games as a franchise. The team has began the season 4-0-0 for its best start since the 2004-05 campaign.

RANGERS AND FLAMES CONNECTIONS

• Adam Fox was selected by Calgary in the third round (66th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
• Chris Drury played one season with the Flames (2002-03).
• Rangers defenseman Erik Gustafsson played seven games for the Flames during the 2019-20 season.
• Dryden Hunt played parts of two season for the Rangers (2021-22 – 2022-23).
• Calgary President of Hockey Operations Don Maloney played parts of 11 seasons with the Rangers (1978-79 – 1988-89) and served as the Blueshirts’ Assistant General Manager for 10 seasons. His brother is former Rangers captain and MSG Network personality, Dave Maloney.
• Rasmus Andersson is the son of Peter Andersson, who played with the Rangers for parts of two seasons (1992-93 and 1993-94), and the brother of Calle Andersson, who was selected by the Rangers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
• Rangers associate coach Phil Housley played parts of five seasons for the Flames (1994-95 – 1995-96, 1998-99 – 2000-01).

ROAD READY

On the road, the Blueshirts are 2-1-0 so far and rank tied for the eighth most GF/GP on the road (4.00) and fewest GA/GP on the road (2.33).

The Rangers finished their regular season road slate last season with a 24-9-8 record for 56 points. In franchise history, the Blueshirts’ 56 road points ranked tied for second and 24 wins were tied for the fifth most.

Since the 2021-22 campaign, New York has been one of the best road teams in the NHL.

MULTI-POINT PANARIN

Artemi Panarin has seven points (3G-4A) in his first five games of the season, including two multi-point performance in the season opener. His seven points lead the Blueshirts.

Panarin has recorded a point in each of the Rangers’ first five games to start the season for the second straight year (also 6 GP in 2022-23). The only players in Rangers franchise history to have a similar streak in back-to-back years is Andy Bathgate (6 GP in 1960-61& 8 GP in 1961-62) and Rod Gilbert (9 GP in 1971-72 & 14 GP in 1972-73).

All-time among Rangers who have played 100 or more road games with the team, only Panarin (1.21) and Jaromir Jagr (1.09) have a P/GP average over 1.00.

Since the 2019-20 season, Panarin’s 100 multi-point games are the sixth most in the NHL.

IGOR ON THE ROAD

Since the 2021-22 season, Igor Shesterkin leads the NHL with 75 wins, ranks third in save percentage (.924) and second in GAA (2.31).

Last season, Shesterkin had a career-high 37 wins in 2022-23, tied for the third most in the NHL. Only three goaltenders in Rangers history have recorded more wins: Mike Richter (42 in 1993-94), Henrik Lundqvist (39 in 2011-12 & 38 in 2008- 09) and Ed Giacomin (38 in 1968-69).

On the road, Shesterkin went 17-4-4 with a .920 save percentage and 2.36 GAA. His 17 wins were tied for the second most among NHL goaltenders.

ADAM’S APPLES

Adam Fox has one goal and four assists this season for five points, tying him for the sixth most assists among NHL defensemen.

Fox leads the Rangers in time-on-ice with a average of 22:37 mark and is tied among team defensemen (Gustafsson) in plus/minus (+4).

Since the beginning of the 2020-21 season among NHL defensemen, Fox has recorded the second most assists (169) and the second most points (198).

Last season, Fox finished second in the Norris Trophy voting for the best defenseman in the NHL. Among NHL defensemen in 2022-23, ranked tied for fourth in assists (60) and eighth in points (72). Fox also established a career-high of 12 goals, games played (82) and plus/minus (+28).

KREIDING HIGH

Chris Kreider has opened the season with four goals in his first five games. Kreider has two power play goals and one shorthanded goal. He is one of five players in the NHL with both this season.

His eight shorthanded goals since 2021-22 are the most in the NHL while his 36 power play goals in that span are the second most.

MIKA ON A MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has recorded five points/assists in his first five games to begin the season.

Last year, he put up a career-high of 91 points (39G-52A) in 2022-23, becoming the third Rangers center since 1982-83 to record 90 points in a season (Gretzky, Messier). Since 2007-08, only Panarin and Zibanejad have recorded 90 or more points in a season for the Rangers.

SLAP SHOTS

• Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafrenière and Filip Chytil have each recorded a point in the same regular-season game on 24 occasions. The Rangers hold a record of 22-0-2 in such contests.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies (T-13th among all NHL skaters) in hits with 15.
• Jacob Trouba’s 21 blocked shots are the most in the NHL.
• Among NHL skaters with 90 or more faceoffs, Vincent Trocheck ranks third in faceoff percentage (58.9).
• Nick Bonino has won 24 of 39 draws this season (61.5), the highest faceoff percentage among Rangers (min. 35).
• Alexis Lafreniere’s 43 goals at five-on-five are the third most on the Blueshirts since 2020-21 behind Chris Kreider (48) and Artemi Panarin (44).

SPECIAL TEAMS

• New York has recorded a power play goal in four of its first five games.
• The Rangers finished with a 24.1 power play percentage in 2022-23, the fifth highest in club history and the seventh highest in the NHL.
• On the penalty kill in 2022-23, the Blueshirts allowed 42 power play goals, tied for the seventh fewest in the NHL.