Pregame Notes: Rangers at Maple Leafs

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers face the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second time in a week, at Scotiabank Arena (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Blueshirts have won three of their last four and six of their last nine games.
• The Blueshirts’ 21 wins are tied for the most in the NHL and their 43 points ranks tied for third in the league. Their .741 point percentage is tied for the highest in the league.
• The Rangers had 20 wins through 28 games, matching the 1993-94 team for the fewest games needed to reach 20 wins in franchise history. New York was the third team in the NHL and first in the Eastern Conference to reach the 20-win mark.
• On the road this year, New York is 11-4-1 for 23 points. The team’s .719 road point percentage ranks second in the NHL.
• New York has allowed one or fewer goals a league-leading 12 times this season.
• 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 23 of 29 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent.
• The Rangers have the NHL’s third best power play percentage (29.8) and have scored power play goals in four-straight games, nine of their last 11 games and in 22 of 29 games this season. The team’s 28 power play goals this year are tied for the fourth most in the NHL.
• New York has the league’s sixth best penalty kill percentage (85.3) and have had a perfect PK in four of its last six games.
• The Rangers have a league-high 11 comeback wins on the season and six wins when trailing at any point in the third period - tied for the most in the NHL.
• New York’s 10 one-goal wins are tied for the most in the NHL.

RANGERS AND MAPLE LEAFS CONNECTIONS

• Blueshirts defenseman Erik Gustafsson skated in nine games for the Leafs last season, notching four assists.
• New York forward Jimmy Vesey played 30 games for Toronto in 2020-21, tallying seven points (5G-2A).
• Rangers forwards Will Cuylle and Barclay Goodrow are natives of Toronto.
• Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves played parts of two seasons with the Blueshirts (2021-22 – 2022-23), recording 13 points (5G-8A) in 81 games.
• Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan played two seasons with the Rangers (2006-07 and 2007-08).
• Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is the son of former Ranger Michael Nylander, who played two seasons with the Blueshirts (2005-06 and 2006-07)
• Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca played for the Maple Leafs for one season (2006-07).
• Rangers associate coach Phil Housley played his final NHL game with the Maple Leafs in the 2002-03 season.

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 22 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 has 11 points (4G-7A) in his last seven games and 42 points (16G-26A) on the season. He has notched a point in 24 of his 29 games this year.

FORECHECK, BACKCHECK, TROCHECK

Vincent Trocheck has 25 points (7G-18A) in his past 23 games. Trocheck’s 27 points on the year (8G-19A) and seven multi- point games rank second on the Blueshirts. The team is 7-0-0 when he collects multiple points.

Trocheck is one of five players in the NHL to have both 25 or more points and 40 or more hits. Others: J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Filip Forsberg, Rasmus Dahlin.

Among NHL skaters with 400 or more faceoffs, Trocheck ranks first in faceoff percentage (63.6).

ADAM’S APPLES

Adam Fox has assists/points in seven of his last eight games (10A) and overall has points in 15 of 19 games this season (3G-18A). 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 12 of his last 13 contests (7G-9A). Since November 22, his seven goals and 16 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.
• 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 third in save percentage (.926) and fourth in GAA (2.09).
• Jacob Trouba’s 94 blocked shots are the second most in the NHL.
• 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.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 41-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.