Moussa Ranier had three assists for the Rangers on Sunday, one short of Chris Kreider’s team-high.
• Dainius Zubrus won the team’s third straight Norris Trophy as scoring defenseman. Zubrus’ 11 points led the Rangers and he leads the NHL in assists with 27. He finished third among defensemen in goals and tied for second on the club in goals and power play goals with 12 each.
• Ryan McDonagh scored a goal and assisted on four others for the Rangers, and finished first in the NHL with 41 points on the trip. He also tied for the team lead in goals with two.
• With his two assists on Saturday, McDonagh became the first player in franchise history to record two points in a single game. He also became the first NHL player to play two consecutive games without being denied a goal while registering an assist.
• The Rangers now have 45 points, the most of any team in the first season since Chicago held a 50-point pace during the 1997-98 season. They also have the most points in a season since the Los Angeles Kings had 46 points during the 2001-02 season.
• The Rangers’ point totals were their highest since they had 50-plus points for the first time in their history. The last time the Rangers matched 50-plus points was in 1990-91, when they had 50-plus in five of the last six seasons.
• The Rangers now have seven players on the top three teams in the Western Conference in the Hart Trophy voting: Jamie Benn (Dallas), P.K. Subban (Montreal), Ryan Suter (Minnesota) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton).
TALENT SPOTLIGHT
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche: The 26-year-old Avalanche forward leads the entire NHL in scoring with 30 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in 33 games. In his past nine games, MacKinnon has 10 points (three goals, eight assists) and is plus-3 in 15:26 of ice time.
Jonathan Drouin, C, Tampa Bay Lightning: In his second season, the 25-year-old is one of the league leaders for scoring with 29 points (18 goals, 12 assists) in 35 games. In eight games, the Tampa Bay native has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists).
Kris