New York Rangers would not have made it to the NHL playoffs without Panarin, Kozhevnikov believes

Two-time Olympic champion Alexander Kozhevnikov justified the decline in the game of the Russian striker New York Rangers Artemy Panarin in the NHL playoffs, noting that without him, the team would not have made the playoffs at all.

The Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday. Panarin in this meeting was not marked by effective actions.

– A decline in Panarin’s game compared to the regular season? The most important thing is team play. He’s not just standing, but giving transmissions. If not in the first pass, not in the third, then in the fourth one he almost always participates, and especially in the majority. Here the team game is not running in circles. The most important thing is for the team to reach the final.

Panarin pulled the team to the playoffs. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t have made it. He did everything. Here he also scores points. Yes, sometimes it doesn’t work. But what are you talking about (Canadian Connor) McDavid? Recent games without points at all and practically minus two for him. If it were not for Panarin, then the Rangers would not have played in the playoffs, – Kozhevnikov is quoted by the Championship.

The Rangers are leading the best-of-four series 2-0. The next match of the confrontation will take place on Sunday, June 5. In 16 playoff games, the 30-year-old forward scored 13 points (5 goals + 8 assists).