The Rangers arrive in Calgary with a few trends working in their favor, and they’ll try to keep them rolling in their final visit to the Scotiabank Saddledome. New York has won three of its last four games, and its calling card this season has been clear: the Blueshirts have been tough to score on, tough to play against, and tough to beat when they get the first punch.
That starts with the penalty kill. The Rangers are 52-for-58 this season, good for a tie atop the league at 89.7 percent.
On the road, they’ve given up only two power play goals, which is tied for the fewest in the NHL. They’ve also spent a lot of time on the right side of games, leading for 499:01 this season, third-best in the league.
Add in 485 hits, which ranks third in the NHL, and a 54.3 faceoff win percentage that sits fourth, and the profile is pretty clear.
They’ve also been stingy on the scoreboard. New York has allowed two or fewer goals in a game 10 times, tied for fourth in the NHL, and its 2.89 goals-against per game is tied for eighth. The Rangers are tied for the league lead with eight wins when leading after the first period, and they’re tied for third with 10 wins when scoring first.
Adam Fox continues to drive a lot of that success from the back end. He has points in three of his last four games, with 1 goal and 4 assists over that stretch, and he’s up to 22 points through his first 19 games.
His 20 assists are tied for sixth in the NHL, while his 22 points are tied for fourth among defensemen. Fox leads the Rangers in assists, points and multi-point games with six, and his five multi-assist games are tied for seventh among all NHL skaters.
He also hit a couple of milestones earlier this month, becoming the seventh Rangers skater in team history with 80 career multi-assist games on Nov. 5, then becoming the fastest Rangers defenseman to 20 assists in a season in franchise history on Nov. 7.
He reached 20 points in 17 games, which is the fastest by a Rangers defenseman since Brian Leetch.
Mika Zibanejad has been piling up production too. He has an assist in three straight games and has 4 assists over that span.
He’s second on the team with 13 assists, third with 16 points, and his five multi-point games are tied for second on the club. Zibanejad’s faceoff work has been a steady asset as well; among players with at least 285 faceoffs taken, he ranks seventh in the league with a 54.9 faceoff win percentage.
He also picked up his 37th career shorthanded point on Nov. 9, moving past Mikael Backlund for fourth-most by a Swedish player in NHL history.
J.T. Miller has chipped in across the lineup, posting 6 points over his last seven games.
His 9 assists are tied for third on the Rangers, and his 13 points are tied for fourth. He’s been a force in the circle, too, with 187 faceoff wins ranking sixth in the league.
Among players with at least 285 faceoffs taken, his 57.5 faceoff win percentage ranks fifth.
In goal, Dylan Garand has given the Rangers a chance to collect points. He’s won two of his last three starts and has helped New York earn points in seven of his 12 starts this season, going 6-5-1.
Among goaltenders with at least 10 games played, Garand ranks eighth with a 2.48 goals-against average and ninth with a .905 save percentage. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in 10 games, tied for the second-most in the NHL, and his five games allowing one or fewer goals are also tied for second.
Pavel Dorofeyev has also been heating up. He’s scored in three of his last five games and has a point in seven of his last 11, with 5 goals and 3 assists in that stretch.
His six goals on the season are tied for second on the Rangers, and he’s two goals shy of 100 in his NHL career. His power-play touch has been especially notable: on Nov. 5, he scored his second power-play goal of the season and his 35th since the start of the 2024-25 season, which ranks third in the NHL over that span.
The Rangers’ depth scoring has been part of the story, too. Seven skaters have reached at least 10 points this season, tied for the eighth-most on any team in the league.
That group includes O. Bjorkstrand, P.
Dorofeyev, A. Fox, T.
Kartye, A. Lafrenière, J.
Miller and M. Zibanejad.
Will Cuylle adds another physical layer, sitting tied for fifth in the NHL with 79 hits and ranking third in the league with 931 hits since the 2023-24 season.
There are plenty of familiar ties in this matchup. Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan skated for the Flames across four seasons from 1993-94 through 1996-97.
Adam Fox was drafted by Calgary in the third round, 66th overall, in 2016. Chris Drury played one season with the Flames in 2002-03.
On the Calgary side, Don Maloney spent parts of 11 seasons with the Rangers and later worked as the team’s assistant general manager for 10 seasons, while his brother Dave Maloney is a former Rangers captain and MSG Network personality. Brennan Othmann, originally selected 16th overall by the Rangers in 2021, appeared in 42 games across parts of three seasons for New York and had three points.
Ryan Strome played 263 games for the Rangers and produced 71 goals and 124 assists for 195 points. Matt Coronato and Joel Farabee are both New York natives, and Calgary goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera was drafted by the Rangers in 1998 and appeared in five games with the club across two seasons.
In Other News...
Rangers Face One Big Test In Surprising Early Playoff Push
The Rangers have spent the early part of the season proving they can survive a difficult stretch better than most expected. At 10-8-1 and sitting third in the Metropolitan Division, they have kept themselves in the mix despite a wave of injuries, including the season-ending loss of Igor Shesterkin. Dylan Garand has helped steady the crease, and Joonas Korpisalos return has given the staff another option as the team tries to keep pace.
What makes the next stretch so interesting is how much it could shape the rest of the year. New York has already shown enough resilience to stay relevant in the standings, but the margin for error is still thin in a division that rarely gives much away. The Rangers are in position to push for a playoff spot, yet the question now is whether this early survival act can turn into something more sustainable once the schedule and the competition tighten up. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Sullivan Finally Saw The Rangers Team He Wants
The Rangers looked far more like the team Mike Sullivan has been pushing for in their second meeting with Edmonton, even if the final result still came back as a 3-1 loss. New York generated more shots and more high-danger chances than it had in the first matchup, and captain J.T. Miller said the group was better in a number of areas against one of the leagues toughest opponents. Jaroslav Chmelar provided the lone Rangers goal, giving the night at least one sign of progress.
Sullivan also had to deal with the familiar headache of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, two stars who can tilt a game even when the Rangers are doing a lot right. Edmonton goalie Devon Levi helped keep New York from turning that territorial edge into a bigger payoff with several key saves, leaving the Rangers with a performance they could point to and still a result they could not fully cash in on. The encouraging part is obvious. The frustrating part is just as clear. [Read more 🡒]
Mika Zibanejad Is Giving Rangers A Scoring Problem They Cant Ignore
Mika Zibanejads season has taken on a strange shape for the Rangers: the playmaking is still there, and in some ways it has been better than ever, but the shot volume has dipped to a level that stands out for all the wrong reasons. Through 19 games, he has been setting up teammates at a career-high rate while producing only three goals, a reminder that even when he is driving offense, he is not doing it in the same direct way the Rangers have come to expect.
The concern is not that Zibanejad has lost his touch. His shot velocity is still among the leagues best, which makes the drop in attempts even more notable, because the threat of his release has long been part of what makes New Yorks attack harder to defend. When he is firing less often, the Rangers lose some of that unpredictability, and for a team that leans on him to tilt the ice, that is a scoring issue they cannot simply overlook. [Read more 🡒]