Pregame Notes: Rangers vs. Maple Leafs

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• The New York Rangers continue a three-game homestand with their first meeting of the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
• The Blueshirts’ 19 wins are tied for the most in the NHL and their 39 points ranks tied for second in the league. With a win tonight, New York can tally 20 wins in fewer than 27 games for the first time in franchise history surpassing the 28 games it needed in 1993-94.
• The Rangers will host a special “Garden of Dreams (GDF) Night” when the Blueshirts take on the Maple Leafs at MSG. - New York has wins in four of his last six games, in 11 of its last 15 games and points in 18 of its last 22 games (17-4-1).
• On home ice, the Blueshirts are 9-2-0, ranking first in the league in home points percentage (.818).
• The Rangers have the best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 55.7 percent mark and have been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 21 of 26 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent.
• Against Toronto, the Blueshirts have wins in five of their last eight contests and points in six of eight. At home against the Maple Leafs, New York has won three of its last four.
• In the past six games, the duo of Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck have combined for 18 points (6G-12A).
• The Rangers have the NHL’s second best power play percentage (30.0) and have scored power play goals in 19 of their first 26 games. The team’s 24 power play goals this year are tied for the fifth most in the NHL.
• New York has a league-high (tied) nine comeback wins, and five after trailing in the third period - the third most in the NHL.
• The Blueshirts are 14-2-1 when scoring the first goal of the game, the second most such wins in the league. New York is 10-1-1 when leading after two periods and 7-0-0 when tied after two frames.
• The Rangers are 9-0-1 in one-goal games, tied for the most such wins in the NHL.
• When outshooting their opponents, the Blueshirts are 13-2-0, tied for the most such wins in the league.

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.

GARDEN OF DREAMS NIGHT

On Tuesday night against Toronto, the Rangers will host a special “Garden of Dreams (GDF) Night” at MSG. Garden of Dreams Night celebrates the incredible impact of the Foundation by highlighting the work that they do with their 30 non-profit partners to bring life-changing opportunities to young people in need.

Through MSG’s world-class sports, entertainment and media properties, the Foundation helps these children experience lasting joy and build successful futures by providing them access to inspiring events and spaces, mentoring and other educational opportunities.

During the Rangers “Garden of Dreams Night” game, Garden of Dreams children will participate in a series of once-in- a-lifetime experiences with the Rangers, both before and during the game. Throughout the game, Garden of Dreams young people will have the opportunity to sing the national anthems, be a guest event presentation game director or musician, and line up on the ice with the Blueshirts as an honorary starter.

KREIDING TO MAKE HISTORY

Chris Kreider is one point from 500 in his career, one goal from matching Adam Graves for the third most in team history (280), and one power play goal from becoming the fifth player in franchise history to reach 100 PPGs.

With his next point, Kreider would become the 12th player to record 500 points with the franchise and the eighth skater from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft class to reach it.

Kreider has 14 goals on the season and has 16 points in his last 19 games (9G-7A).

Only 14 active players have 100 or more career power play goals.

His nine shorthanded goals since 2021-22 are the most in the NHL while his 41 power play goals in that span are the second most. In addition, his nine career SHGs rank tied for ninth with Mika Zibanejad for the most in team history.

At MSG in the regular season and playoffs combined, Kreider has scored 162 goals, the second most in history behind Rod Gilbert’s 165.

PANARIN ON A PATH

Artemi Panarin has 38 points (16G-22A) on the season and has notched a point in 21 of his 26 games this year. Panarin ranks fourth in the NHL in points, tied for sixth in goals, 11th in assists, and tied for third in power play points (16).

Panarin has a season-opening home point streak to 11 games (7G-12A), the second longest in team history (Mike Rogers - 15 GP in 1983-84).

Panarin leads the league with 13 multi-point games and since 2015-16, his 194 multi-point games rank sixth in the league.

Ahead of his 617th NHL game, Panarin sits one points away from 700 in his career. In NHL history, 37 players have reached the 700 point milestone in fewer than 617 games.

Panarin is also the first Ranger with 15+ goals and 20+ assists within the team’s first 25 games of a season since all three members of the ‘G-A-G Line’ (Hadfield, Ratelle, Gilbert) in 1971-72.

BACK IN THE FOX HOLE

Adam Fox played in his 300th career NHL game on Dec. 9 at Washington and became the 13th defenseman in NHL history with at least 250 points through their 300th career game. His 212 assists were the sixth most through the first 300 games of a NHL defensemen’s career.

In his six games since returning from injury, Adam Fox has tallied six assists, giving him points in 12 of his 16 contests this season (3G-14A).

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

SLAP SHOTS

• Vincent Trocheck has 21 points (5G-16A) in his past 16 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 (63.6).
• Mika Zibanejad has points in nine of his last 10 contests (5G-6A). Since 2021-22, his 38 power play tallies rank fourth in the NHL.
• Jacob Trouba’s 85 blocked shots are the second most in the NHL. He has points in four of his last eight games (1G-4A) and is one point away from 300 in his career. He would be the third defenseman from the 2012 NHL Draft to notch the feat.
• Alexis Lafreniere has four assists in his last six games.
• Jonny Brodzinski has six points (1G-5A) in seven games this season.
• Jonathan Quick has a point streak of nine games (8-0-1) to begin his tenure with the team and is the sixth Rangers goaltender in the past 40 years to post a run of that length, joining Mike Richter (3x; longest: 16 GP in 1996-97), Henrik Lundqvist (9 GP in 2015-16), Cam Talbot (9 GP in 2014-15), Glenn Healy (9 GP in 1995-96) and John Vanbiesbrouck (9 GP in 1991-92).
• Erik Gustafsson has 11 points (1G-10A) in last 15 games. His 15 points (3G-12A) this season rank second among Rangers defensemen.
• Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 53 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 234.
• Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 71 and tied for 12th in the league in hits.
• The Rangers have a regular season record of 40-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.