Fox keeps tormenting spurned teams

TAMPA, Fla. — Adam Fox still hears boos whenever he goes to Calgary or North Carolina.

The Flames and Hurricanes fan bases still are feeling spurned by the Jericho, N.Y. native for his decision to take his Norris Trophy-winning talents and force his way to the team he grew up rooting for, the Rangers, when he was ready to make the leap to the NHL five years ago.

Who wouldn’t be spiteful over missing out on a dynamic defenseman, who is ranked fifth in points among those in his position since he entered the league in 2019-20?

Fox scored the Rangers’ lone goal in their 1-0 win over the Hurricanes on Tuesday, giving the 26-year-old 15 game-winning goals in his career.

As a result, Fox not only tied Reijo Ruotsalainen for the third most gamewinners by a defenseman in franchise history, but Fox now leads the entire

NHL for the most game-winning goals over the last five seasons.

“I was trying to almost bank it off [newly acquired forward Jack Roslovic] or hope it hit his stick or something,” Fox said of his goal. “I saw him going to the backdoor. I think we kind of had a little bit of a mentality coming in to deliver pucks early — to get it there. It’s kind of what [the Hurricanes] do. And when you do that, you get bounces. I was fortunate for that one to go in.”

With 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his last 12 games, Fox continues to produce while also providing a steady presence on the back end. He’s been instrumental in helping quarterback the Rangers’ power play.

Fox is actually tied with the Predators’ Roman Josi for the third-most power-play points since the 2019-20 season with 124. This all while logging the sixth-most power-play ice time at 1,077:06.

The standout numbers since entering the NHL hardly stop there for Fox, who also is ranked second in takeaways with 293, behind only the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin.

Chris Kreider became the third Ranger to hit the 60-point mark this season after recording points in five of his last six contests and 12 total points in his last 12 games. The only teams with more 60-point contributors this season are Edmonton, Florida, Tampa Bay and Vancouver, each with four.

Fans have a chance to bid on a game-worn jersey of Brian Leetch’s from the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Lelands Winter Classic Auction runs through March 16 . ... The Rangers were off on Wednesday before they face the Lightning on Thursday night.