The Rangers kick off their 2018-19 season Thursday night against the Nashville Predators, and there are a handful of players who will mark new milestones with their first games of the season.
At the top of the class is Henrik Lundqvist, who is appearing in his 14th regular season on Broadway, just the ninth player in franchise history to reach that mark. He’ll also tie Mike Richter for the most regular seasons, as well as 1970s stalwart Walt Tkaczuk. With two more seasons remaining on his contract after this one, it’s possible that he could move into a tie for fourth all time.
Defenseman Marc Staal will be starting his 12th season in blue, which moves him into a seven-way tie for thirteenth all time with the likes of Andy Bathgate and Phil Watson. Others worth noting include Mats Zuccarello – 9th season, Chris Kreider – 7th season and Jesper Fast in his 6th.
At the other end of the scale, Adam McQuaid and Brett Howden are projected to start their first season with the Rangers, becoming the 1053rd and 1054th players to dress as a Ranger in a regular season game.
Tomorrow night will be Lundqvist’s 806th regular season game, putting him just four behing Jim Neilson for 8th all time in franchise history. It will be game 762 for Staal, who will trail Adam Graves by ten games for 11th overall. Zuccarello will tie Neil Colville for 49th all time, playing his 464th regular season game,
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