The New York Rangers played 2016 regular-season games from 2000-01 through 2024-25. The first quarter of the 21st century included one trip to the Stanley Cup Final (2014), two Presidents' Trophy-winning seasons (2014-15 and 2023-24), three division titles (2011-12, 2014-15 and 2023-24) and 15 trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs (including the 2020 Qualifiers).
The Rangers had some of the most memorable individual performances in their history during the past 25 seasons, including the third five-goal game since they joined the NHL in 1926. There was also a sensational 42-save shutout performance by a Hall of Fame goalie, a record-breaking night by a future Hall of Famer, and memorable comeback wins — including one in the 2024 Stadium Series.
Here's a look at five regular-season games from the first quarter of this century that Rangers fans won't forget for a long time.
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Mika Zibanejad was in the midst of a career year when he had a career night and powered the Rangers to a 6-5 overtime win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden.
Zibanejad joined Don Murdoch and Mark Pavelich as the only players in Rangers history to score five goals in a game. And he became the second NHL player to complete a five-goal game with an overtime goal, joining Sergei Fedorov for the Detroit Red Wings against the Capitals on Dec. 26, 1996.
Zibanejad wouldn't have made all that history if it weren't for Washington's Alex Ovechkin . The Rangers center completed a hat trick 12 seconds into the third period, only to have Ovechkin tie the game at 9:22. Zibanejad put the Rangers ahead with his fourth goal of the night at 18:18, but the Caps got even again when Ovechkin scored 59 seconds later.
Luckily for the Rangers, overtime is sudden death – so when Zibanejad scored 33 seconds into OT, it was all over.
Zibanejad was greeted by an empty locker room when he entered after his big night — until his teammates came out of hiding and quickly mobbed him.
"The puck followed me today, I guess," Zibanejad said postgame. "You look at the goals, some unbelievable plays were being made. Today I was at the right spot at the right time."
Jean Ratelle's single-season team record for points (109) had stood since 1972 when the NHL resumed play in the fall of 2005 after a lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season. The Rangers hadn't made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 1996-97. Both droughts ended in 2005-06 thanks to one man: Jaromir Jagr.
New Rangers coach Tom Renney put Jagr on the right side of a line with Martin Straka on the left and Michael Nylander in the middle – and the trio clicked right away. Jagr, a five-time NHL scoring champion and then in his age-34 season, produced like he was in his prime again.
Jagr led the NHL in scoring for much of the season, and came to the Nassau Coliseum on March 29 looking to make franchise history – after he had already tied Ratelle's record for points and Adam Graves' mark of 52 goals, set in 1993-94. He blew past Ratelle with a four-primary assist night in the Rangers' 5-1 win over their archrivals.
No. 68 surpassed Ratelle's mark 7:23 into the game when he assisted on Petr Prucha's goal, then set up all three goals in Straka's natural hat trick. He could have broken Graves' record as well but missed on a third-period breakaway. However, he got goal No. 53 against the Boston Bruins on April 6 and finished with 54.
Still, Jagr was elated to set the team mark for points; his season total of 123 is still a Rangers record, as is his goals mark.
"It's a big honor when you consider all the great players who've played for his organization," he remarked postgame. "It could have been a lot more points. We had a lot of chances. I had a lot of chances."
Henrik Lundqvist is the greatest goaltender in Rangers history, as well as the only 21st-century Blueshirt to earn induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His 459 wins are sixth in NHL history and by far the most by a Ranger.s goalie His 64 shutouts are also a team record.
But it was his 42nd career shutout, at TD Garden in Boston on Valentine's Day in 2012, that, perhaps, ranks as the best performance of his career.
The 3-0 final score doesn't do justice to Lundqvist's play that night. After Ryan Callahan and Ryan McDonagh scored for the Rangers in the first period, the Bruins took over the game everywhere but on the scoreboard. The Bruins outshot the Rangers 14-5 in the second period and 18-3 in the third, when they had 34 shot attempts to five for the Rangers (including a goal by Artem Anisimov early in the period). They finished with 79 shot attempts to 31 for the Rangers.
Boston's 32-8 margin in shots over the final 40 minutes and 42-20 for the game meant nothing on a night when "The King" was flawless. Perhaps his best save came in the second period, when he was flat on his back but had a blast by Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara from the slot that hit the back of his helmet or between his shoulder blades and deflectt to the corner. He preserved his shutout late in the third period with a spectacular glove save on Tyler Seguin on a power-play breakaway.
Related: Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin lead Rangers All-Quarter Century team
Facing the Canadiens in Montreal has always been a nightmare for the Rangers. They are 70-210-2 with 40 ties against the Canadiens since entering the NHL 99 years ago and have had multiple double-figure losing and winless streaks. That includes an 0-21-4 streak in the early 1950s. More recently, the Rangers were 2-13-2 at Bell Centre from October 2009 through Dec. 1, 2018.
So when the Canadiens jumped to a 4-0 lead against the Blueshirts on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2019, the sellout crowd in Montreal was confident the night would end as it usually did when the Rangers were in town – with a Habs win.
But this time was different.
Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images
Down 4-0 less than three minutes into the second period, the Rangers scored three times before the midway mark of the period to cut the deficit to one. Montreal's Artturi Lehkonen and New York's Artemi Panarin exchanged goals 31 seconds apart early in the third period, but Brendan Lemieux tied it with a shorthanded goal at 8:40 before Jacob Trouba scored the game-winner at 12:10.
"It's just an unreal feeling that the guys kept at it, nobody gave up," said Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev , who made 38 saves. "It's rare that you get to come back from 4-0."
How rare? It was just the fourth time in their history the Rangers won after trailing by four goals, and the first since Dec. 26, 1991, against the Capitals. They haven't done it since.
The Rangers will take a 5-0-0 record in outdoor games into the 2026 NHL Winter Classic against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at loanDepot Park on Jan. 2. They're the only team that's played more than three outdoor games without losing – and the reason is their refusal to roll over in their most recent one, against the Islanders at MetLife Stadium in the 2024 Stadium Series.
Eric Gustavsson gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 1:28 into the game, but the Islanders scored the next four goals and led 4-1 just 1:03 into the second period. Vincent Trocheck scored twice to make it a one-goal game after two periods, but Alexander Romanov's goal early in the third looked like it had put the game away.
But the Isles couldn't stay out of the penalty box down the stretch, and the Rangers took advantage. With Igor Shesterkin off for an extra skater, Chris Kreider 's goal made it 5-3 with 4:08 left. Scott Mayfield 's tripping penalty with 2:28 remaining gave Rangers coach Peter Laviolette another chance to pull Shesterkin for a 6-on-4 opportunity. The move paid off again when Zibanejad beat Ilya Sorokin for the tying goal with 1:29 to play.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The reeling Islanders managed to get the game to overtime, but Panarin took the puck away from Noah Dobson and scored 10 seconds into OT for a stunning 6-5 win.
"I was flooded with emotions," Panarin said. "I had to hold back tears. It was so much of a spectacle."
It was the first outdoor win in five tries for Laviolette.
"These games that take place are special, I've been fortunate enough to be a part of them," he said. "There have been some good ones but this one has to be up there, near the top of the list."
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