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RANGERS RUNDOWN

  • The New York Rangers return from the All-Star break with a two-game homestand beginning with the Colorado Avalanche in game No. 50 of the season (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM). New York will play four of their next five games at home.
  • Tonight is Black History Night at Madison Square Garden.
  • New York has points in three of its last four games (2-1-1) and was the seventh team in the NHL to reach the 30-win mark.
  • The Avalanche are one of two teams (NY Islanders) the Blueshirts have not played this season yet. The Rangers have points in four of their last six home games against the Avs (3-2-1).
  • This past weekend, Igor Shesterkin and Vincent Trocheck were members of the winning team at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, defeating Peter Laviolette’s team in the final.
  • Last season in games following the All-Star break, the Rangers finished the season with a 20-8-5 mark for 45 points, tied for the fifth most points in the NHL.
  • With New York’s next win, Peter Laviolette will surpass Al Arbour for the seventh most wins in NHL history by a head coach with 783. Tonight, Laviolette will surpass Darryl Sutter for the ninth most games coached in NHL history (1,480).
  • In the last 17 games (since Dec. 27), Artemi Panarin (22 pts) and Vincent Trocheck (18 pts) have recorded a combined 40 points (19G-21A).
  • New York has the NHL’s third best power play percentage (27.2) and ranks tied for eighth in penalty kill percentage (82.7).
  • The Rangers’ 54.1 faceoff percentage is the fourth 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 121 points from defensemen this season, the fourth most in the NHL.
  • The Blueshirts have 14 come from behind wins this season, tied for the fifth most in the NHL and seven comeback wins after trailing in the third period, tied for the sixth most in the NHL.

RANGERS AND AVALANCHE CONNECTIONS

  • Rangers President and GM Chris Drury played four seasons with Colorado (1998-99 – 2001-02), winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2001.
  • Avs goaltender Alexandar Georgiev played the first five seasons of his career with the Rangers (2017-18 – 2021-22) before being dealt on July 7, 2022.
  • Avs defensemen Jack Johnson played 13 games for the Rangers during the 2020-21 season.

BLACK HISTORY NIGHT

On Monday, the Rangers will celebrate Black History Night with a special national anthem, color guard and the Community Captain award, a $10,000 donation recognizing local heroes making a difference in our community, among several additional initiatives.

In celebration of Black History Night, the Rangers will be hosting participants from the TEAM Hockey Program for a special on-ice clinic on Madison Square Garden ice. In partnership with the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Hockey Haven, TEAM Hockey works to further the game by empowering members of the community through hockey.

TEAM Hockey offers a free program that allows students (ages 14 & younger) in under-resourced communities to have access to critical athletic, academic, civic, and social development opportunities through the sport of hockey.
Also pregame, in partnership with the Garden of Dreams Foundation and their partner Children’s Village, 42 of
their students/staff will take place in a guided pre-game tour of MSG. Following the tour, the students will have the opportunity to shadow employees from MSG’s Black Employee Resource Group.

In addition, in partnership with Chase, the Rangers will recognize Freckle’s Juice, a black owned small business and grant them a $10,000 donation along with spotlighting them in-arena.

NEXT ON FOX

Adam Fox has a point streak of five games (1G-6A) with an assist. He has points in six of his last seven games (1G-8A) and nine of his last 12 games (5G-8A).

Among NHL defensemen, Fox ranks tied for ninth in points (37) and assists (29). His 0.95 points per game mark ranks sixth in the league among blueliners.

Since the 2019-20 season, Fox ranks fifth among NHL defensemen in points (271) and second in assists (228).

FORECHECK, BACKCHECK, TROCHECK

Vincent Trocheck ranks second in the NHL (min. 700 FO) in faceoff percentage (61.8) and is the only player in the NHL to have 45 or more points, 60 or more hits, and 40 or more blocked shots.

Since Dec. 30, Trocheck’s 17 points (7G-10A) ranks among the top-15 in the NHL.

Trocheck has points in three of his past four games (1G-2A) and 13 points in his last 13 games (6G-7A).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin ranks tied for sixth in the NHL in goals (30) and points (66), and tied for fifth in multi-point games (20).

His 30 goals match his output from last season and is two away from his career-high of 32. Panarin reached 30 goals in a season for the fourth time in his career and is the only active undrafted player to accomplish the feat.

Panarin has points in three of his last four games (3G-2A), six of his last eight games (4G-4A), 16 points in his last 14 games (7G-9A). He has notched a point in 40 of his 49 games this year,

KREIDING TO MAKE HISTORY

Chris Kreider has 23 goal this season, points in nine of his last 12 games (4G-6A) and 15 of his last 19 contests (7G-13A). 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).

MIKA MAKES RANGERS HISTORY

Mika Zibanejad has points in three of his past five games (4A) and seven of his past 12 games (1G-8A).

In New York’s win over Ottawa, Zibanejad (534 GP) recorded his 500th point with the Blueshirts. He became the fourth- fastest in Rangers history to notch 500 points with the club behind Mark Messier (406 GP), Brian Leetch (496 GP), and Andy Bathgate (518 GP).

SLAP SHOTS

  • Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies and ninth in the NHL in hits with 128.
  • Jacob Trouba’s 142 blocked shots are the most in the NHL. Trouba is the only player in the NHL to have 100+ blocked shots and 100+ hits.
  • The Rangers have a regular season record of 42-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.