Rangers at Stars: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers begin a stretch of three games in four days before the holiday break with the road trip finale against Dallas on Friday night (8:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• On Wednesday evening, the Rangers acquired defenseman Will Borgen, a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, and a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Kaapo Kakko.
• When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 10-1-1 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 13-2-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 13 of 15 victories this season.
• On the road this season, New York has the third fewest GA/GP (2.40) in the NHL.
• Against Dallas, the Blueshirts have points in six of their last seven games (5-1-1) and have won three of their last four road games versus the Stars.
• New York’s 87.1 penalty kill percentage ranks tied for first in the NHL and the 12 power play goals allowed by the Rangers are the fewest in the NHL. The Blueshirts have posted a perfect penalty kill in five-straight games (10-for-10) and eight of their last 10 contests.
• With a 54.5 percent clip, the Blueshirts rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage and have been 50 percent or better in 23 of 31 games this season.
• The Rangers have a combined 105 hits in their last three games and four of the team’s seven highest hit outputs this season have come in the last four contests.
• Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 51-2-0 record in 53 regular season games in which they have allowed two goals or fewer (not counting team goals awarded for shootout win).\
• On the year, New York is 9-1-0 when leading after one period and 13-1-0 when leading after the second period. The Blueshirts are 12-2-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.

RANGERS AND STARS CONNECTIONS

• Rangers forward Reilly Smith was drafted by Dallas in 2009 and played two seasons with the team (2011-12 – 2012-13).
• Stars defenseman Brendan Smith, the brother of Reilly, played parts of five seasons with New York from 2016-17 to 2020-21.
• Stars forward Colin Blackwell played 47 games for the Blueshirts during the 2020-21 season, recording 22 points (12G-10A).
• Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist was drafted by the Rangers in the first round, 28th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Lundkvist played in 25 games for the Blueshirts in 2021-22, recording four points (1G-3A).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin has a team-leading 15 goals and 36 points, has points in six of his last seven games (3G-7A) and multi- point games in two of his last five contests.

He has at least one point in 22 of 29 games this year and dating back to last season, he has points in 89 of 111 games The only NHL players who have tallied a point in more games over the span are Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (94) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (92).

With his latest multi-point game (143rd), has moved past Ron Greschner and into a tie with Mika Zibanejad for the eighth most in franchise history.

Among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, Panarin has the fourth most assists (537) and fifth most points in the NHL (817).

Panarin has tallied 497 points (164G-333A) in 379 career games with the Rangers. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in points per game (1.31) and assists per game (0.88). He would be the 14th player to register 500 points in a Rangers uniform.

TOO COOL

Will Cuylle has established a career-high of 23 points (11G-12A). He has points in seven of his last 12 games (4G-4A).

On New York, Cuylle ranks second in goals, third in points, first in plus/minus (11), and tied for fourth in assists (12). His team-leading 122 hits rank fourth third in the NHL.

Cuylle is one of three NHL players who have registered 10+ goals and 100+ hits this season (along with Brady Tkachuk and Kiefer Sherwood).

Cuylle required the fewest games (23 GP) to 20 points in a season by a Rangers player under the age of 23 since Alex Kovalev (20 GP in 1995-96).

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider ranks third on the Rangers with 10 goals on the year. Four of his 10 goals have been game-winning goals. His career total of 48 GWGs are the second most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert’s 52.

Kreider has 100 regular season goals on tips/deflections in his NHL career (92 tipped, 8 deflected). No NHL player has more since Kreider’s first NHL regular season game in 2012-13 (Pavelski is second - 96).

Kreider has 41 career multi-goal games, one shy of tying Camille Henry (42 GP) for the sixth most in Rangers history.

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 114 career power play goals, the second most in franchise history. Since 2021-22, his 56 power play goals rank tied for third in the NHL.

BROADWAY BACKSTOPS

On December 7, the Rangers agreed to an eight-year extension with goaltender Igor Shesterkin. He has 10 wins this season and has allowed two or fewer goals in all but one of his victories.

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

When Shesterkin makes 40 or more saves in a game over his career, the Rangers are 13-2-1. Since the beginning of last season, the 22 games in which Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals rank first among NHL goaltenders.

Quick is 5-3-0 this season with a 2.47 GAA, .915 save percentage and two shutouts. In his tenure with New York, Quick has compiled a 23-9-2 record.

Quick’s 62 shutouts are the 18th most in NHL history. He sits two wins away from 400 in his career which would make him the 15th goaltender in NHL history to reach the mark and first American-born player.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Adam Fox has seven points in his lst nine games and has logged 24:00+ in eight of his last nine contests, including single-game season-high 27:11 in last game

He has 24 assists on the season, the fourth most among NHL defensemen.

Fox has 58 multi-assist games since his debut season in 2019-20, the fourth most among defenseman over that span. In that time frame, he ranks second among defensemen in the NHL in assists (279) and fifth in points (333).

Fox is one of only three defensemen in Rangers history to register 25 or more points in each of their first six NHL seasons (along with Brad Park and Ron Greschner).

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad is one assist from 400 and one point from 700. He would be the fourth active Swedish player to record 400 assists in their career.

With 312 assists in a Rangers sweater, Zibanejad has surpassed Steve Vickers for the 11th most in franchise history. Zibanejad has 143 multi-point games with the Rangers, the eighth most in franchise history.

Since Zibanejad joined the Rangers in 2016-17, he ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in power play goals with 103 which is also the sixth most in Rangers history.

TROCHECK IN THE CIRCLE

Vincent Trocheck ranks first in the NHL among players with 400 or more faceoffs with a 61.8 FOW% and ranks fifth in the NHL in faceoffs won (357) this season.

Trocheck has won 124 of 185 faceoffs he has taken over the last nine games (67.0%); he leads the NHL in faceoffs win over the span (since Nov. 30).

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• The Rangers have posted a 64-11-2 record in the 77 regular season games which Alexis Lafrenière has scored a goal in his NHL career.
• Reilly Smith has 15 points (5G-10A) on the year and the Rangers are 11-2-0 this season when he notches a point.