Artemi Panarin returned to the ice at the MSG Training Center on Thursday after leaving the preseason game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury.
The Russian star winger said he and Rangers wanted to be safe as it was pre-season and assured him he would be fine.
Panarin is expected to play in at least one more preseason game, but the 32-year-old was not suited for Thursday's game against the Bruins at Madison Square Garden.
“I'm feeling good,” he said after skating without restrictions Thursday morning. “It's just the lower body. [thing]”
Panarin, in his sixth season with the Rangers, is coming off a career year in which he had 49 goals and 71 assists for 120 points in 82 games.
In addition to being named to his first All-Star team at the end of last season, Panarin also finished fifth in voting for the Hart Trophy, which is given to the team's most valuable player.
Panarin played in all 82 regular season games over the past two seasons and all 23 playoff games over the same span.
The Rangers' lineup that beat the Bruins 5-2 at The Garden was full of NHL regulars, but the spotlight seemed to have found bubble players looking to make a statement.
Brennan Osman, Johnny Brodzinski and Adam Edstrom all scored in the Blueshirts' third straight preseason win.
All three skaters are still competing for a spot in the opening round, with Brodzinski leading the way.
But no one needed a confidence-boosting game more than Osman, who wasn't satisfied with his performance in the previous exhibition game against the Isles.
“I felt much better than the last game,” he said. “I thought it was probably one of the best games I've ever played so far, so I felt really good. I just had confidence in the puck. Just taking it day by day and playing in the past. It's like coming away from the last game, whether it's good or bad, I just want to go out there and contribute the way I know and what I'm good at.”
In addition to the contributions from the bubble players, Chris Kreider had a goal and an assist, and Adam Fox scored a power play goal.
They also had veterans like Mika Zibanejad, Riley Smith, Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Will Quill, Sam Carrick, Jimmy Vesey, Jacob Trouba, K'Andre Miller and Zach Jones.
Jonathan Quick and Louis Domingue were in goal.
Adam Arne, who is in Rangers training camp on the PTO, also played Thursday.
Edstrom has been a hyped player this training camp, and the 6-foot-7 forward continued that form Thursday night, but it may take longer for him to make the Rangers' roster out of training camp. .
“It's just consistency,” Laviolette said of what he expects from Edstrom, who scored his second preseason goal from an empty net in Thursday's win. “He's been playing well. He's big and he can skate. He came into camp in great shape. His skating is really good. He's got his physicality. He's a fighter. He's heavy. He loves the puck. He can play with his body. You saw him score in the last game, he controls the net. is difficult.”
Matthew Robertson (lower-body injury), Ryder Korczak (upper-body injury) and Taryn Boyko (upper-body injury) are all still considered day cases and did not skate Thursday.
