Rangers at Red Wings: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers conclude their season series with the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• New York is 4-1-0 on the road this year, having won each of its first four road games.
• Since 2015-16, the Rangers have 71 wins in the month of November, the second most in the NHL behind Toronto (73).
• The Rangers have wins in seven of their last 10 games and points in nine of 12 games this year. New York hit the 15-point mark through 10 games for the 12th time in franchise history and third in the past 30 years following 2023-24 (8-2-0, 16 points) and 2008-09 (7-2-1, 15 points).
• The Rangers have earned at least one point in 13 of their last 14 games against Detroit (11-1-2) and 20 of their last 22 games against the Red Wings, dating back to Jan. 22, 2017 (15-2-5 record).
• New York’s 90.7 penalty kill percentage ranks first in the NHL. The team has a perfect PK in eight of 12 games this year, including five of their last six contests.
• Artemi Panarin has points (5G-6A) in five-straight against the Red Wings and in 10 of his last 11 contests against them (6G-13A). On October 17 in Detroit, Panarin posted four points (3G-1A).
• New York has scored first in eight of its first 12 games, boasting a 8-0-0 record in those games.
• The Blueshirts rank sixth in goals for per game (3.75) and fourth in goals against per game (2.50). The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in eight of 12 games.
• As a team, the Rangers’ .922 save percentage is the second best in the NHL.
• The Rangers’ plus-15 goal differential (45-30) ranks fourth in the NHL.
• On the year, 16 players have scored a goal for New York and the Rangers have 19 different players who have notched a point.

RANGERS AND RED WINGS CONNECTIONS

• Rangers assistant general manager Ryan Martin had a 16-year stint (2005-21) with the Red Wings, including 11 seasons (2010-21) as the team’s assistant general manager and eight seasons as the general manager of the Grand Rapids Griffins (2013-21).
• Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson skated for the Rangers in 2023-24, recording 31 points (6G-25A) in 76 games and a plus-3 rating.
• Red Wings forward Patrick Kane played in 19 regular season games for the Blueshirts last season and an additional seven playoff games.
• Red Wings forward Tyler Motte had two stints with the Rangers, during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
• Red Wings forward Vladamir Tarasenko was a trade acquisition by New York during the 2022-23 season, recording 21 points (8G-13A) in 31 regular season games.
• Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot played his first two seasons (2013-14 – 2014-15) with the Rangers, making 53 starts with the team.
• Red Wings forward Andrew Copp played for the Rangers at the end of the 2021-22 season following his acquisition at the trade deadline. Copp finished with the second most points by an in-season acquisition in Rangers history, behind Steve Larmer in 1994 (16 PTS in 23 GP). Copp accumulated 32 points in 36 total games with the Rangers (8G-10A in 16 RS GP & 6G-8A in 20 PS GP).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin recorded his 800th career point (274G-525A) on Thursday night against Buffalo.

Since his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season, Panarin’s 800 points are the fifth most in the NHL. Panarin (684 GP) became the fourth-fastest active player to record 800 points behind Connor McDavid (545 GP), Sidney Crosby (571 GP) and Alex Ovechkin (658 GP). Panarin also became the sixth fastest undrafted player to reach the 800-point milestone behind Wayne Gretzky (352 GP), Peter Stastny (531 GP), Bobby Orr (575 GP), Phil Esposito (633 GP) and Adam Oates (657 GP).

Panarin has 19 points (9G-10A) on the year and points in 11 of his 12 games this season. He ranks tied for eighth in the NHL in points.

Panarin’s 39 multi-point games since the beginning of last season are the fifth most in the NHL.

Among NHL skaters since 2015-16, Panarin has the second most assists (526) and fifth most points in the NHL (800).

PUCK STOPPING SHESTERKIN

Igor Shesterkin has six wins on the young season, tied for fifth in the NHL, and has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his 10 starts and one or fewer goals in four starts.

When Shesterkin makes 40 or more saves in a game over his career, the Rangers are 13-1-1.

Since the beginning of last season, the 22 games in which Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals rank first among NHL goaltenders. Since 2021-22, his 59 games allowing one or fewer goals is the most in the NHL.

Since the 2021-22 season, Shesterkin has ranked among the best in the NHL.

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider has seven goals, the second most on the team, in the first 12 games of his 13th season, including two shorthanded goals.

Since 2021-22, Kreider’s 11 shorthanded goals are the most in the NHL. His 11 career shorthanded goals are tied with Walt Tkaczuk and Mika Zibanejad for fifth place on the franchise’s all-time list.

Kreider has 112 career power play goals, the second most in franchise history. Since 2021-22, his 54 power play goals rank third in the NHL.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Adam Fox has nine assists in his last 11 games, including two three-assist games.

Since 2019-20, Fox ranks third among defensemen in the NHL in assists (264) and fifth in points (317). In that span, he has 75 multi-point games, which ranks tied for fourth among NHL defensemen.

Last season, Fox set a career-high in 17 goals and posted 56 assists and 73 points last season. He scored the most goals by a Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch in 2000-01 (21). Among NHL blueliners, he ranked tied for sixth in goals, sixth in points, and eighth in assists.

LIVE, LAF, LOVE

Alexis Lafreniere has points (5G-5A) in eight of his 12 games to start the season. Among Rangers skaters this season, he ranks tied for second in points, third in goals, second in even strength goals (4), and second in even strength points (9).

Since his rookie season in 2020-21, he has the fifth most points on the Blueshirts (158) and in that same frame, ranks third on the Rangers in even strength goals (74) and even strength points (145).

FORECHECK, BACKCHECK, TROCHECK

Vincent Trocheck scored his 200th career NHL goal on Nov. 3 against the Islanders. He has nine points (3G-6A) through the first 12 games of the season, including his fourth career four-point game on October 17 at Detroit.

Among skaters with 200 or more faceoffs, Trocheck ranks eighth in faceoff percentage (54.7).

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has 10 points (2G-8A) in his last 10 games and three multi-point games on the season.

Since Zibanejad joined the Rangers in 2016-17, he ranks fifth in the NHL in power play goals with 101 which is also the fifth most in Rangers history.

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• Filip Chytil ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with plus-10 rating. He has six points (3G-3A) in his last seven games and eight points (4G-4A) in 12 games this year.
• Will Cuylle has 48 hits, tied for the seventh most in the NHL. He scored his fourth goal of the season and third in his last five games. Cuylle has nine points (4G-5A) in 12 games.
• Cuylle and Vincent Trocheck are two of the five players in the NHL to have nine or more points along with 40 or more hits.
• In the NHL, nine players have played over 25 minutes of ice time shorthanded and not been on the ice for a goal against. Three of those players are Rangers (Reilly Smith, K’Andre Miller, Vincent Trocheck).