The Rangers close out their four-game Western Conference trip Friday night in Vancouver, and they arrive with plenty of momentum. New York has taken four of its last five, and each of those wins came with at least three goals on the board.
That offensive burst showed up in a big way the first time these teams met. The Rangers hung a season-high six goals on the Canucks on Oct. 11, and they’ll get the rematch in the second and final meeting between the clubs this season at 7:00 PM PDT/9:00 PM ET.
There’s been a lot to like about New York’s overall profile, too. The Rangers have killed off 53 of 60 penalties this season, good for third in the NHL at 88.3 percent, and they’ve been even stingier on the road, where they’ve allowed only three power play goals - tied for the second-fewest in the league. They also rank third in hits with 514, are tied for ninth in takeaways with 81, and sit tied for seventh in goals against per game at 2.80.
The Blueshirts have also spent a lot of time in control. They’ve led for 538:02 this season, which ranks fifth in the NHL, and they’ve been especially effective when they get out front early.
New York is tied for second in the league with eight wins when leading after the first period, and it ranks fourth with 11 wins when scoring first. The Rangers have allowed one goal or fewer six times and two goals or fewer 11 times, both tied for fourth in the NHL.
They also rank fourth in faceoff win percentage at 54.5.
The matchup carries a few familiar faces, too. J.T.
Miller spent parts of six seasons in Vancouver from 2019-20 through 2024-25, piling up 437 points in 404 games. Marcus Pettersson played parts of two seasons with the Canucks, while Rangers coach Mike Sullivan was an assistant there in 2013-14.
Vancouver assistant Jason Krog had a brief stint with the Rangers in 2006-07, and Filip Chytil - now with the Canucks - was a first-round pick by New York in 2017 and totaled 164 points in 378 NHL games with the Rangers.
Mika Zibanejad has been rolling lately, with points in four straight games and his first multi-goal game of the season coming on Nov. 11.
He’s up to 18 points on the year, including 13 assists, and his six multi-point games are tied for the team lead. That same night, he matched Mark Messier for the fifth-most game-opening goal contributions in franchise history with his 124th, and he tied Steve Vickers for the second-most multi-goal periods in Rangers history with his 26th.
Zibanejad now sits sixth in franchise scoring with 685 points, six shy of Messier for fifth. He’s also been strong in the circle, ranking eighth in the NHL among players with at least 300 faceoffs taken with a 55.8 percent win rate.
Adam Fox keeps doing Adam Fox things. He has points in three of his last five games and has 22 through his first 20 contests, with 20 assists that rank tied for sixth in the NHL.
Among defensemen, his 22 points are tied for fourth. He leads the Rangers in assists and points, and his six multi-point games are tied for the team lead.
Fox also hit two franchise benchmarks in early November, becoming the fastest Rangers defenseman to 20 assists in a season and the fastest Rangers defenseman to 20 points in a season since Brian Leetch.
J.T. Miller has chipped in as well, with seven points over his last eight games.
His 10 assists rank fourth on the team, and his 14 points leave him tied for fourth. He’s also been one of the league’s most effective faceoff men, with 192 wins ranking sixth in the NHL and a 56.8 percent success rate ranking sixth among players with at least 300 faceoffs.
Since the start of the 2024-25 season, his 59.3 percent faceoff win rate is tied for fourth among skaters with at least 1,000 draws.
In goal, Dylan Garand has given the Rangers a chance to bank points. He has helped New York earn points in seven of his 13 starts, going 6-6-1, and among goalies with at least 10 games played he ranks eighth in both goals-against average (2.48) and save percentage (.905). He’s allowed two or fewer goals 10 times, tied for the second-most in the league, and has five outings with one goal or fewer, also tied for second-most.
Pavel Dorofeyev has been productive, too, with points in three of his last four games and in eight of his last 12. His six goals are tied for third on the team, and he’s two away from 100 in his NHL career. He also scored his second power play goal of the season on Nov. 5, giving him 35 since the start of the 2024-25 season - third-most in the NHL over that span.
The Rangers have gotten scoring depth from multiple spots, with six different skaters already reaching at least five goals: O. Bjorkstrand, P.
Dorofeyev, T. Kartye, A.
Lafrenière, G. Perreault and M.
Zibanejad. Will Cuylle adds another physical edge, sitting tied for seventh in the league with 81 hits and ranking third with 933 hits since the 2023-24 season.
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Since then, the picture around that roster has gotten much messier. Several of the players who made the team, including Vincent Trocheck, Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck and Quinn Hughes, have been tied to trades or trade demands from their NHL clubs, with conflicting reports and plenty of fan reaction following each development. In that light, Foxs absence does not look quite as strange as it did in the moment, and it adds another layer to a situation that keeps reflecting poorly on the way that U.S. team was put together. [Read more 🡒]