Rangers vs. Kraken: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers begin their second back-to-back of the season with a Sunday matinee against the Seattle Kraken at Madison Square Garden (1:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• Yesterday afternoon, the Rangers agreed to terms with goaltender Igor Shesterkin on an eight-year contract extension.
• New York has gained at least one point (6-0-1) in all seven contests against the Kraken in team history. The Rangers’ .929 points percentage against Seattle is the highest against any active team.
• On Friday, the Rangers acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Jacob Trouba.
• New York’s 86.4 penalty kill percentage ranks second in the NHL and the 11 power play goals allowed by the Rangers are tied for the fewest in the NHL. On Friday night, the Rangers went a perfect 4-for-4 on the PK.
• With a 53.7 percent clip, the Blueshirts rank third in the NHL in faceoff percentage and have been 50 percent or better in 17 of 25 games this season.
• The Rangers have scored 24 go-ahead goals in the third period dating back to last season which is the third most among all teams behind the Wild (29) and Hurricanes (26).
• The Blueshirts have the sixth most shots per-game in the NHL with a 30.3 clip.
• On Wednesday, it was announced that Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider will be joining Adam Fox on Team USA for Four Nations, and Kaapo Kakko was selected for Team Finland. Mika Zibanejad was named to Team Sweden’s roster earlier in the year.
• When the Blueshirts score four or more goals in a game, they are 10-0-1 and when they allow two or fewer goals, they are 12-0-0. The Rangers have allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of 14 victories this season.
• Since the start of last season, the Rangers have posted a 50-1-0 record in 51 regular season games in which they have allowed two goals or fewer (not counting team goals awarded for shootout win).
• As a team, the Rangers’ .911 save percentage is tied for the third best in the NHL.
• New York boasts a 11-1-0 record when scoring first in a game, their 11 such wins ranking tied for the third most in the NHL.
• Blueshirts defensemen have accounted for 49 assists, tied for the fifth most in the NHL. 34.5 percent of all Rangers assists have come from blueliners.

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin has a team-leading 15 goals and 32 points. He has points in three-straight games (3G-3A) and at least one point in 19 of 25 games this year. His 15 goals are tied for seventh in NHL.

Panarin has eight multi-point games this year. In his career, Panarin has 225 career multi-point games, the tenth-most multi-point games by an undrafted player since the NHL Draft was introduced in 1963. He also has 142 multi-point games with the Rangers, tied Ron Greschner for the ninth most in franchise history.

Dating back to last season, Panarin has recorded a point in 86 of 107 regular season games; the only NHL players who have tallied a point in more games over the span are Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (90) and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (87).

Among NHL skaters since 2015-16, Panarin has the second most assists (533) and fifth most points in the NHL (813).

TOO COOL

Will Cuylle has points in four of his last six games (2G-3A), seven of his last 10 games (4G-5A) and nine of his last 14 games (6G-6A).

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). His 20 points are one shy of tying his career-high of last year (81 GP).

On New York, Cuylle ranks tied for second in points (20), third in goals (9), tied for first in plus/minus (10), and tied for fourth in assists (11).

Cuylle has 99 hits, the most on the Rangers and the sixth most in the NHL.

KREIDING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS

Chris Kreider ranks second 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.

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 third in the NHL.

BROADWAY BACKSTOPS

With Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick as goaltenders, the Rangers’ .911 save percentage is tied for the third best in the NHL.

Shesterkin has nine wins this season and has allowed two or fewer goals in all but one of his victories. 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.

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

Quick is 5-1-0 this season with a 2.03 GAA, .936 save percentage and two shutouts. In his tenure with New York, Quick has compiled a 23-7-2 record, 2.50 GAA and .916 save percentage.

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 20 assists on the season, tied for the fourth most among NHL defensemen.

It marked the third time he reached the 20-assist mark in 23 games or fewer (also 23 GP in 2023-24 & 2021-22). The last Rangers defenseman to reach the mark in fewer contests was Brian Leetch (19 GP in 2000-01).

He has four multi-assist games this year and 56 since 2019-20, the fourth most for a NHL blueliner. In that span, he ranks tied for second among defensemen in the NHL in assists (275) and fifth in points (328).

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has four points (1G-3A) in his last three games and 12 points (3G-9A) in his last 15 games. He is one goal from 300 in his career, two assists from 400 and three points from 700. He would be the eighth Swedish-born player to reach 300 goals.

With 311 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.

Zibanejad scored his first power play goal of the season on Nov. 30 against Montreal. Since Zibanejad joined the Rangers in 2016-17, he ranks tied for fifth in the NHL in power play goals with 102 which is also the sixth most in Rangers history.

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

• Vincent Trocheck ranks first in the NHL among players with 400 or more faceoffs with a 60.9 FOW%.
• The Rangers have posted a 64-10-2 record in the 76 regular season games which Alexis Lafrenière has scored a goal in his NHL career.
• Reilly Smith has 13 (4G-9A) points on the year. The Rangers are 10-1-0 this season when he notches a point.