Before the start of the season, very few bets were placed on Rangers. More precisely, everyone from the team from New York expected better results, especially since the arrival of new head coach Gerard Gallan, but they did not create any special illusions. But the team managed to prove themselves: They had a great regular season and made it to the playoffs. True, they rightly say that without Igor Shesterkin there would be no eight. It is no accident that the Russian goalkeeper claimed both the Vezina Trophy and the Hart following the results of a trouble-free championship.

Praising Shesterkin is already a habit from the category of “brushing your teeth.” But it is impossible not to write about him. He does something incredible on the series with “Pittsburgh” and “Carolina,” and the collections of his amazing saves are enough for a feature film. Against the backdrop of such a great performance by the goalkeeper, the field players are overshadowed. And if Mika Zibanejad periodically appears among the heroes of the matches, Artemy Panarin is almost always invisible. He is the highest paid player of the team and plays very average in May according to Russia’s compatibility. He has 8 (3 + 5) points in 11 playoff games and is only fifth among Rangers goalscorers. He has only had one assist so far in the second round with Carolina. A player making $11.6 million a year is expected to play a completely different game.

It should not be forgotten that all the attackers of the team from New York experience problems from time to time. In the first two games against the Hurricanes, the Blue Shirts looked exhausted, unprincipled and weak. There was no thought, everything just depended on Shesterkin’s confident play. Panarin, on the other hand, made many mistakes, did not improve and looked tired. In the second game, Khlebushek won “-2”. And if at that moment he is not directly guilty by the first goal, then claims can be made against him in the second. Artemy handed the ball to Aho. The meeting had its last seconds and there was hardly any chance to save the game, but it still seemed to refuse to fight. He is nothing like Panarin, who is ready to tear his veins for the sake of victory. Artemiy, who had a trio with Strome and Koppa, looked better in the 4th game of the series, which Rangers won again. Again he left without points, but unlike the previous matches, he won “+2” and made three shots on the target. That’s right, it didn’t implement the “zero to one” output.

He played unsteadily in the first round with Pittsburgh as well. He became a star in the second match and got 3 (1+2) points. Then it slowed down. In the seventh decisive game, he transforms from an anti-hero to a hero. He took two transfers in normal time, suffered a lot of losses, did not provide any benefit in the attack. In overtime, he took the majority and scored. And all the mistakes were forgotten in an instant.

But he’s unlikely to dwarf the same Nikita Kucherov he might face in the Eastern Conference finals. Panarin’s uninspiring play can be attributed to injuries. Or with partners – they’re not as creative with him as the Tampa forward and they changed during the playoffs as well, it started with Lafrenière. But something else is more important. The Rangers rebuilt in the second round and focused on defense as they had major issues with Pittsburgh in the series. Artemy has yet to find his game.

Panarin played 11 games in this playoff. He has not yet played in the Stanley Cup. The previous maximum was 10 matches with Columbus in 2018/19. And this year, he plays in the second round for only the second time in his career. And this can well affect its performance. In the playoffs, teams analyze the opponent’s game much more carefully, play harder with the leaders, and sometimes you have to play easier, not more creatively, to win. Panarin, like the rest of the Rangers, is only learning this. And their equalization with Carolina (2-2) is already a great achievement for the team. So he can come to the seventh game and he is already there, for a good story Panarin has to score.

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