Rangers vs. Sabres: Pregame Notes

The New York Rangers finish off a three-game homestand with a Thursday night matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden (7:00 PM ET - TV: MSG Network - Radio: ESPN 880 AM).

RANGERS RUNDOWN

• Including this contest, the Rangers will play three of their next four games at home. New York is 4-1-1 in its six home games this year.
• 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 nine games and points in nine of 11 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).
• New York leads the league in goals-against per game with a 2.18 clip and has allowed two or fewer goals in eight of 11 games.
• The Rangers’ 4.00 goals per game are the fifth most in the NHL and their five occurrences of scoring five or more goals is tied for the second most in the league.
• Against the Sabres, the Blueshirts have secured at least one point (12-1-3) in 15 of their last 16 meetings dating back to Jan. 2021. At home against Buffalo, the Rangers are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games.
• As a team, the Rangers’ .934 save percentage is the best in the NHL.
• The Rangers’ plus-20 goal differential (44-24) ranks second in the NHL.
• The Rangers’ 92.3 penalty kill percentage ranks second in the NHL. The team has a perfect PK in eight of 11 games this year, including their last five contests.
• On the year, 16 players have scored a goal for New York, tied for the fourth most in the NHL. The Rangers have 19 different players who have notched a point.
• New York has scored first in eight of its first 11 games, boasting a 8-0-0 record in those games.

RANGERS AND SABRES CONNECTIONS

• Rangers associate head coach Phil Housley began his playing career with the Sabres, skating eight seasons for the team (1982-83 – 1989-90). From 2017-19, Housley was the head coach of the Sabres. Among skaters in Sabres history, Housley ranks fourth in assists (380) and fifth in points (558).
• Rangers assistant coach Michael Peca played for the Sabres from 1995-96 to 1999-2000 and was an assistant coach with the Sabres’ AHL affiliate for two seasons.
• Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff played for the Rangers from 1988-89 - 1990-91 and was an assistant coach with the Blueshirts from 2017-2020.
• Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson’s father, Kjell Samuelsson, played parts of two seasons with the Rangers (1985- 86 and 1986-87).

PANARIN’S POINTS

Artemi Panarin sits one point away from 800 in his career. Panarin (799 in 683 GP) can become the sixth fastest undrafted player to reach the 800-point milestone behind Wayne Gretzky (352 GP on Dec. 17, 1983), Peter Stastny (531 GP on Oct. 16, 1987), Bobby Orr (575 GP on Dec. 22, 1974), Phil Esposito (633 GP on Nov. 23, 1972) and Adam Oates (657 GP on March 24, 1995).

Panarin has 18 points (9G-9A) on the year and points in 10 of his 11 games this season. He ranks tied for sixth in goals and ninth 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 (525) and fifth most points in the NHL (799).

PUCK STOPPING SHESTERKIN

Igor Shesterkin has six wins on the young season, tied for second in the NHL. Among goaltenders who have played five or more games, Shesterkin ranks first in save percentage (.933) and fourth in GAA (2.22).

Shesterkin has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his nine starts and one or fewer goals in four starts. When Shesterkin makes 40 or more saves in a game 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 11 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 10 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 11 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. He has nine points (3G-6A) through the first 11 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 fifth in faceoff percentage (55.2).

MIKA’S MISSION

Mika Zibanejad has 10 points (2G-8A) in his last nine 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 six games and eight points (4G-4A) in 11 games this year.
• Will Cuylle has 44 hits, the seventh most in the NHL. Cuylle also ranks tied for sixth in the NHL with a plus-10 rating. He has goals in two of his last four games and points in four of his last seven games (2G-3A).