Pregame Notes: Rangers at Penguins

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers visit Pittsburgh for a Thanksgiving eve meeting against the Penguins on Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). The Rangers have wins in four of their last five games and have points in 11 of their last 12 games (10-1-1).
• The Rangers have points in eight of 10 road games this season (7-2-1) including in seven of eight. On the road, the Rangers have the second most (tied) wins (7) and points (15) in the NHL.
• In the NHL, New York’s 12 wins and 25 points are tied for the fourth most. Its .781 points percentage is second in the league behind Boston’s .853 mark.
• The Blueshirts have the allowed the third fewest GA/GP (2.44) in the NHL and the second fewest total goals (39) in the league.
• Against the Penguins, the Blueshirts have points in three-straight contests (2-0-1) and six of their last seven against them (5-1-1). In his 15 regular season games against the Penguins as a Ranger, Artemi Panarin has points in 11 of them (6G-12A).
• On the year, New York is 5-1-0 against Eastern Conference opponents and 3-1-0 against Metropolitan Division teams.
• The Rangers have the second best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 55.3 percent mark. New York has been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 13 of 16 games.
• The Rangers have the NHL’s second best power play percentage (32.7) and have scored power play goals in 13 of their first 16 games. The Rangers’ 17 power play goals are the fifth most in the league.
• New York has seven players (Kreider, Fox, Gustafsson, Lafreniere, Panarin, Trocheck, Zibanejad) with 10 or more points, tied for the seventh most in the NHL. Panarin and Kreider have 10 goals, making the Blueshirts are one of three teams to have multiple 10-goal scorers. Others: Vancouver and Toronto.

RANGERS AND PENGUINS CONNECTIONS

• Nick Bonino won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins in 2016, ’17. He also played three games with the team during the 2022-23 campaign.
• Vincent Trocheck is a native of Pittsburgh.
• Mike Sullivan served as an Assistant Coach with the Rangers for four seasons (2009-10 – 2012-13).
• Ryan Graves was selected by the Rangers in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

PANARIN ON A PATH

On Monday night in Dallas, Artemi Panarin went without a point for the first time all season. His point streak ended with a franchise record season-opening mark of 15 games (10G-16A) and it was the longest point streak of his career. His streak was the longest for a Ranger since Wayne Gretzky (15 GP) in 1996-97 and tied for the third longest in franchise history.

Panarin also had multiple points in five-straight contests, the first Rangers skater with at least five straight multi-point games since Jaromir Jagr (6 GP in 2005-06).

Panarin ranks among the best in the NHL in multiple categories. 

NEW YORK NETMINDERS

As a team, the Blueshirts have the sixth highest save percentage in the NHL (.914) and second lowest GAA (2.39).

Igor Shesterkin has a 7-3-0 record on the year. Since the 2021-22 season, Igor Shesterkin leads the NHL with 80 wins and among goalies with 100 or more games, ranks first in save percentage (.924) and GAA (2.31).

Jonathan Quick has began his Rangers career with a 4-0-1 start and has allowed one or fewer goals in two of those five starts. Among NHL goaltenders who have made five or more starts this season, Quick ranks tied for sixth in save percentage (.928) and first in GAA (1.98).

The Rangers have had three goaltenders (Shesterkin, Quick, Domingue) earn a win for them this season, all three allowing one or fewer goals in their first start. On 11 instances in NHL history, a team has had three goaltenders earn a win and allow one or fewer goals in their first starts of the season The last time the Rangers had three goalies record wins through the teams first 13 games of a season was during the 1989-90 season.

KREIDING HIGH

Chris Kreider has 10 goals on the season and has tied Vic Hadfield (11 from 1963-64 – 1973-74) for the second-most consecutive 10-goal campaigns by a Rangers skater. Only Rod Gilbert (15 from 1962-63 – 1976-77) has more.

Kreider has points in seven of his last nine games (5G-4A).

Kreider has surpassed Andy Bathgate for the fourth most goals in team history (273) and is five goals away from matching Adam Graves for the third most in team history (280).

Kreider sits two power play goals away from becoming the fifth player in franchise history to reach 100 PPGs.

His eight shorthanded goals since 2021-22 are the most in the NHL while his 40 power play goals in that span are the second most.

SLAP SHOTS

• Erik Gustafsson has a point streak of six consecutive games (1G-7A), the third longest of his career. Gustafsson is the fifth defenseman to post a run of that length in his first season with the Rangers. The others: Neal Pionk (7 GP in 2017- 18), Bruce Driver (7 GP in 1995-96), Per Djoos (6 GP in 1991-92) and Brian Leetch (6 GP in 1987-88). His 12 points (3G-9A) rank fourth on the Rangers and first among New York defensemen.
• Vincent Trocheck has a point streak of six games (4G-7A), tied for the third longest of his career. Trocheck’s 15 points on the year (5G-10A) are tied for the second most on the Blueshirts. Among NHL skaters with 250 or more faceoffs, Trocheck ranks first in faceoff percentage (63.0).
• Jacob Trouba’s 56 blocked shots are the second most in the NHL.
• Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 41 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 222.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 43 and has points in four of his last seven games (2G-2A).