Rangers Offensive Players On The Cusp Of Career Marks With Three Games Remaining
Five Rangers players could record more than 30 goals and four 70-point scorers with three games remaining in the regular season.
When Peter Laviolette took the reigns as the 37th head coach in New York Rangers history, he was tasked with getting the most out of the current roster.
Nine months later, the Blueshirts sit at a franchise record 53 wins, with contributions from every skater.
A look at the players that propelled the Blueshirts to a record book season, and the marks they can achieve with three games left on the calendar.
Alexis Lafreniere
Alexis Lafreniere currently sits at 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) in 79 games played.
The ping pong ball kid is three goals away from 30 on the year and four points from 60.
His monster jump in career totals symbiotically helped Artemi Panarin reach a new gear. It also came with no power play time.
The 22-year-old winger has 25 even-strength goals, good for 15th in the entire NHL. That is more than Jack Hughes, Connor McDavid, Sebastian Aho, Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Petterson, and Kirill Karpizov (h/t Ranger Muse).
Mika Zibanejad
The Rangers first line center has 69 points (26 goals, 43 assists) in 78 games played.
He is four goals away from 30 on the year, one point from 70 in total, and five from 680 in his 13th NHL season.
If the Swedish pivot can reach the 70 point mark, it would be his fourth 70-plus point season as a Ranger.
Chris Kreider
The 32-year old career Ranger boasts 72 points (39 goals, 33 asissts) in 79 games played.
"Mr. PPG" has recorded 18 goals a man-up this season. He is one goal away from his second 40-plus goal season, two from his second 20-plus power play goal season, and six points from tying his career high of 77 points (2021-2022).
The Boxford, Massachusetts native has 127 goals in the last three seasons (239 games played).
Vincent Trocheck
Trocheck is scoring at a career pace with 76 points (25 goals, 51 assists) in 79 games, just four points away from 80 on the season. He is also three goals away from 200 in his career.
The 30-year-old center is 29th in the NHL in points outpacing Jake Guentzel, Zach Hyman, Jack Hughes, and Mark Scheifele.
It would be a stretch for Trocheck to score five goals in three games to reach 30, but with the gas his line runs on, 80 points could be an achievable mark to close the year.
Artemi Panarin
Panarin has 116 points (46 goals, 70 assists) in 79 games this season. That is the second-best single-season points total in club history.
His 46 goals in a season are ninth all-time in a single season by a Ranger. The last two Rangers to post 40 or more goals in a single season were two of his teammates, Mika Zibanejad (41 in 2019-2020) and Chris Kreider (52 in 2021-2022).
The 30-year-old superstar is four goals away from the fifth 50-goal season in Rangers history.
The "Bread Man" is ten assists from 80, which would tie the all-time assists in a single season record set by Brian Leetch (1991-1992).
Panarin can eclipse Jaromir Jagrs' all-time points in a season (123 in 2005-2006). The race will be on, as starters will likely be benched in the last game of the season. He needs seven points to tie the record.