Rangers vs. Golden Knights: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers host the Vegas Golden Knights in the second half of a back-to-back, at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (6:00 PM ET - TV: MSG - Radio: ESPN 880 AM). Including tonight, the Blueshirts will play four games before the 4 Nations break.

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• Tonight is Black History Night at MSG.
• On Friday night, New York struck a deal to acquire forward J.T. Miller as well as defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional first round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
• At home, the Blueshirts have obtained at least one point in six of their last eight contests (5-2-1). - The Rangers have points in four of six home games against the Golden Knights (2-2-2).
• New York has points in 11 of its last 15 contests (8-4-3). Since Jan. 2, the Blueshirts rank first in the NHL in goals scored (50) and have scored three or more goals in 10 of 15 games.
• Jonathan Quick is one win away from being the 15th goaltender, and first American-born netminder, to reach 400 career victories. Of the 14 goaltenders in NHL history who have earned 400 or more career wins, three of played for the Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist, Terry Sawchuk, and Jacques Plante).
• Tonight, Mika Zibanejad is set to play in his 900th career NHL game. Since his NHL debut in 2011-12, his 116 power play goals are tied for the seventh most in the NHL.
• The Rangers have had 24 different players score a goal this season, tied for the most in the NHL and 27 unique point getters, tied for second in the league.
• New York ranks fourth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage (82.7) and have had a perfect penalty kill in five of its last seven games and seven of its last 11 games. The Rangers’ seven shorthanded tallies rank third in the NHL (FLA - 11, TBL - 8).
• In their last seven games, 20 Rangers skaters have notched a point and 18 have scored a goal.
• The Rangers rank second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (53.6) and have been 50 percent or better in 36 of 51 games this season (70.6 percent), including six of their last seven games.
• When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 14-3-3 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 21-2-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 21 of 24 victories this season.
• Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 59-2-0 record in 61 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 15-2-2 when leading after one period and 18-1-2 when leading after the second period.

RANGERS AND GOLDEN KNIGHTS CONNECTIONS

• Rangers forward Reilly Smith was an original member of the Golden Knights where he played for six seasons and won a Stanley Cup in 2023.
• Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick finished his 2022-23 season with Vegas, posting a 5-2-2 record in 10 appearances and earning his third Stanley Cup championship.
• Vegas forward Brett Howden played parts of three seasons with the Rangers (2018-19 – 2020-21).
• Vegas President of Hockey Operations George McPhee began his NHL career with the Rangers and played parts of four seasons with the Blueshirts (1983-84 – 1986-87).

BLACK HISTORY NIGHT

The Rangers will celebrate Black History Night at Madison Square Garden when they face the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night.

In celebration of Black History Night, the Rangers will be hosting participants from TEAM Hockey and Hockey Haven for a special on-ice pre-game clinic at Madison Square Garden. 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.

In addition, the Rangers will be hosting Ice Hockey in Harlem for the Junior Rangers Face Off Experience. Players from the organization will take part in a brief scrimmage during the first intermission.

During pre-game, Garden of Dreams Foundation will host 42 students from partner organizations, Children’s Aid and SCO Family of Services. The students will participate in a guided pre-game tour of MSG with members of MSG’s Black Employee Resource Group who will share their career journeys and roles at MSG.

J.T. MILLER BACK IN MANHATTAN

The Blueshirts acquired J.T. Miller on Friday night, bringing back a player they drafted in 2011. Miller notched nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 40 games for the Canucks this season. He ranked second on the club in assists, points, and power play points (14).

Since the 2021-22 season, Miller is the only player in the NHL to have recorded 300 or more points as well as 600 or more hits. In that same time frame, he is one of 11 skaters to have three or more 50-plus assist seasons, and his 319 points are the 13th most in the NHL.

Miller has points (3G-5A) in six of his last seven contests dating back to Jan. 18.

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin has a team-leading 21 goals and 53 points, has points in five of his last six games (2G-4A) and 16 points in his last 17 games (6G-10A). Panarin’s 13 points (5G-8A) in January led the Rangers.

Panarin also leads the Rangers in power play goals (7), power play points (17), and shots (149).

Panarin has reached the 50-point mark for his sixth straight time as a member of the Rangers, one of seven in franchise history to do so. He is also the sixth Ranger since 1990-91 to record four straight 20-goal seasons.

He has at least one point in 35 of 49 games (71.4%) this year. Dating back to last season, he has points in 102 of 131 games. The only NHL players who have tallied a point in more games over the span are Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (111) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (109).

In that same span, his 173 points (70G-103A) rank sixth in the NHL.

Going back further, among NHL skaters since his debut in 2015-16, Panarin has the fourth most assists (548) and fifth most points in the NHL (834).

TROCHECK IN THE CIRCLE

Vincent Trocheck has three points (1G-2A) in his last five games. He ranks second in the NHL in faceoff percentage (60.3) and third in faceoff wins (604).

On the Blueshirts, Trocheck ranks tied for second in goals (15) and points (32), and tied for fourth in assists (17). His 135 shots are the second most on the team.

Trocheck ranks eighth among NHL forwards in average ice time (21:27). He is one of three NHL forwards (Marner, Hagel) averaging at least 16:00 of even strength ice time, 3:00 of PP ice time, and 2:00 of SH ice time per game this season.

ADAM’S APPLES

Adam Fox has multi-point games in three of his last six contests and six assists in his last eight games. He has points in seven of his last 13 games (1G-9A) and 12 assists in his last 17 games.

Fox has tallied his sixth consecutive 40-point season since making his debut with the Rangers. The only Rangers blueliners with as many straight seasons with 40 points are James Patrick (7: 1985-86 to 1991-92) and Brian Leetch (6: 1993- 94 to 1998-99).

Fox’s 37 assists this season are the sixth most among NHL defensemen and his 12 multi-point games are tied for the fifth most in the league among blueliners.

Since making his NHL debut in 2019-20, Fox has been one of the best blueliners in the NHL.

SHESTY’S SAVES

Igor Shesterkin is 6-3-1 in his last 10 starts with two shutouts. On the year, he has allowed two or fewer goals in 15 of his 17 wins this year.

Since the beginning of last season, the 27 games in which Shesterkin has allowed one or fewer goals rank tied for first among NHL goaltenders.

Shesterkin has made 40 more saves on four occasions this season. When he makes 40 or more saves in a game over his career, the Rangers are 14-2-1.

Dating back to the 2021-22 season, Shesterkin has ranked among the best in the NHL.

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider, with 115 career power play goals, sits one power play goal away from tying Camille Henry for the most in franchise history.

He ranks second on the Rangers with 15 goals this season, with five of his 15 goals being game-winning tallies. His career total of 49 GWGs are the second most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert’s 52.

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. In that same span, his 57 power play goals rank tied for fourth in the NHL.

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad will play in his 900th career NHL game tonight. He is one goal away from tying Brian Leetch (240) for the 10th most in franchise history. The list is topped by Rod Gilbert (406).

When he scores a goal this year, the Rangers are 7-1-1.

Zibanejad’s 104 power play goals with the Blueshirts rank fifth in franchise history and since 2016-17, the tallies are the sixth most in the league.

In the month of January, Zibanejad tallied multiple career milestones:

• Tallied his 400th career assist on Jan. 5, becoming the third active Swedish player to reach the mark (Others: E. Karlsson and V. Hedman)
• Recorded his 700th career point on Jan. 2, becoming the 15th Swedish player in NHL history with 700 career points and just the third active (Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman).

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• Will Cuylle ranks fourth in the NHL in hits (187).
• Alexis Lafrenière has points in four of his last six games (2G-3A) and points in five of his last eight games (2G-4A). The Rangers have posted a 65-11-4 record in the 80 regular season games which has scored a goal in his NHL career.
• Reilly Smith has multi-point efforts in two of his last four games. The Blueshirts are 17-4-0 this season when Smith notches a point and 9-1-0 when he scores a goal.
• Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle are two of six NHL players with 13+ goals and 140+ hits.
• K’Andre Miller’s 38 takeaways are the fourth most in the NHL among defensemen.