The month of January is over for the New York Rangers, and it will go down as one of the most consequential months in franchise history. It was a month which started with Mika Zibanejad making history by recording the first hat trick ever during an NHL Winter Classic, and the month ended with a 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In between those two events, Chris Drury released the Letter 2.0, and now fans will have to wait and see who gets moved, and if it will happen before the Olympic break. With that said, let's take a look at some notable stats from the month of January.
3-10-1 — Rangers' record in month of January
The Rangers started the month off with a 5-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at the Winter Classic. Mika Zibanejad was the hero of the game by recording a hat trick, and the hope was that moment could improve the overall vibes for the Rangers. That was not the case, as the Rangers went on to lose five games in a row, including a 10-2 loss against the Boston Bruins, and an 8-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Drury released the Letter 2,0 on Friday, January 16, and it was his way of waiving the white flag and signalling that the team was going in another direction. The group responded with pride and energy the following day in Philadelphia, and Zibanejad's second hat trick of the month led New York to a 6-3 victory. The team followed that up by getting swept on the California road trip, they won at home against the Boston Bruins, and then loss back to back games against the New York Islanders and on Saturday on the road vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.
So for those keeping score at home, the Rangers lost five games before the Letter 2.0 was released, and they have gone 2-6-0, and that really just underscores the team's decision to essentially tear down a bit and start in a new direction.
22 — Number of points tallied by Mika Zibanejad in month of January
The month of January was one to remember for Zibanejad, and he finished with 11 goals, 11 assists, and 22 points in 14 games played. He had two hat tricks during the month, and at one point had a 10 game point streak which started on the final game of the month of January.
Zibanejad also set a new record for most career power play goals scored by a Ranger, and passed Andy Bathgate to occupy fifth place for most total goals scorer by a Ranger in the regular season.
He was kept off the scoresheet against the San Jose Sharks, and then picked up points in the final four games. That means Mika had points in 13 of the 14 games the Rangers played during the month, and that is something truly spectacular. It didn't amount to a lot of winning, but it is just a continuation of how he's rediscovered his scoring touch and overall game this season.
Zibanejad is up to 23 goals, 29 assists, and 52 points in 55 games, and this comes after finishing the 2024-25 season with just 20 goals, 42 assists, and 62 points in 82 games. He's really put the work in this year, and the hope is he can be a catalyst again next season as part of a group that will look significantly different than this year's squad.
1-7-1, 4.56 GAA, .827 SV% — Jonathan Quick's January
Jonathan Quick entered the month with a 1.35 goals against average, and a .941 save percentage. The Rangers pressed their backup into service when Igor Shesterkin sustained an injury, and what followed was the worst overall month of his storied NHL career. The lone win he picked up was his 408th victory, and he's now won the 12th most games in NHL history. What's happened overall in January isn't entirely Quick's fault, as he's a 40 year goaltender who never expected to have this much work this season. It very much looks like this will be the end of his time in New York, if not the NHL entirely. Going forward the Rangers need to have a backup who is capable of handling starting minutes in the event of an injury, and Quick has shown that he's no longer built for this kind of action.