Panarin is the second highest scorer in the NHL
On October 30, Artemy Panarin celebrated his birthday – he turned 32. This happened on the day of the game against Winnipeg.
Tyoma always laughs when people call him a veteran. “What is this? I am still the same child who started playing hockey in Vityaz.
Looking at it from this perspective, the age-related decline of Panarin’s career is not yet visible. He scored 15 points (5+10) in nine games, which is the best result among Russians this season in the NHL. Next come Nikita Kucherov (6+5) from Tampa and Evgeniy Malkin (5+6) from Pittsburgh, but these forwards have 11 points each.
Additionally, Panarin moved into second place in points league-wide, behind only New Jersey’s nimble Jack Hughes (5+13=18). Maybe it’s worth taking a chance on the Art Ross Trophy, the prize awarded to the NHL’s top scorer?
In addition, Panarin, after scoring a goal and giving two assists in the match against Winnipeg (3:2 OT), extended his goal streak since the start of the championship to nine matches.
This season, Artemy has never played a match in which he did not score points. The previous record of eight matches belonged to Marian Gaborik. And it’s the Rangers’ record for the most successful streak in the 21st century. This is the gift that Panarin gave himself for his birthday.
Rangers coach: He does special things on the ice
What’s interesting is that Panarin doesn’t play on equal footing with his best Rangers teammates, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. He placed himself in the third trio with the youngsters: Filip Hytil and Alexi Lafrenière. And these guys aren’t very productive. However, Panarin still finds an opportunity to score points. When he scored a goal, he placed his stick under defender Jacob Trouba’s button. The second point came on the power play when Kreider scored. And in overtime, Panarin fed the puck to Zibanejad, and he hit the goalie with a powerful shot.
“Some of the things Panarin does are very special on the ice,” said Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette, who worked with Alexander Ovechkin in Washington last year. – The last winning goal, when he was able to fly to the center of the ice, push aside his opponents, attract them to him, and then make a clever pass to Mika – it was strong, Artemy is a unique player, and now he brings many benefits to our team.
Overall, the Rangers have had an unusually strong road series, winning five games in a row.
“A victory against Winnipeg is a great way to end the road trip,” continued Laviolette. — It seems that we have been traveling for a very long time. It’s amazing that the guys came to this match with great emotions and put in so much effort. I’m very happy with it, great victory!
“It’s great to get such a victory,” Zibanejad said. — This is the last away match of the tour. Everyone wants to go home already. But we were determined to end this series the right way. We fought hard and were able to take these two points. It’s really good.
Artemy always makes a good start in the championship
The NHL mentioned an interesting fact on this subject: Artemy Panarin became the first active player who, on his birthday, played a notable game several times, scoring more points per game,
I checked: indeed, on October 30, 2022, Khlebushek played away in Arizona, where he also scored 3 (1+2) points, and he was recognized as the first star.
It seems that Artemy is simply bored on the road on his birthday, so he pours his energy directly onto the ice.
And I have to say one more thing. 2019 – Panarin scores 9 (5+4) points in the first nine matches. 2020-12 (5+7). 2021 – 8 (1+7). 2022 – 13 (4+9). 2023-15 (5+10). That is, Artemy has a habit of always starting strong in the championship, and this surge from him does not seem surprising at all.
The most important thing is the playoffs, that is, the end. Panarin came to the New York Rangers not only for money, but also for the Stanley Cup. Last year, his team failed by being eliminated by New Jersey in the first round (3-4 in the series). After that, Artemy even shaved his head, driving away evil spirits.
Let’s believe that from now on Rangers will go far in the race for the cup. Especially if Khlebushek continues to be this hot.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
