Artemi Panarin isn’t the only one to blame for the Rangers’ underperformance in the past two games.
However, while Panarin impressed in the second round with two goals and four assists in the first three games, his impact was noticeably lacking in Games 4 and 5, with only a few shots on goal. was on the ice with just two. He achieved 5-on-5 goals four times.
“I thought their line was that way and I thought they were working on it in Game 4,” Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. “It’s difficult to comment [Monday] night. But we weren’t good.But I couldn’t see anything in particular [with him]”
According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere is dangerous despite Lafreniere’s strong individual performance in Games 4 and 5. Only one chance resulted.
Panarin performed well enough in the regular season to qualify for Hart Trophy voting, but like the rest of the Rangers, he seemed to fall behind in last year’s postseason with a struggling performance.
But with the Hurricanes coming back from a 3-0 deficit to take the series to 3-2 ahead of Game 6 on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, the door to uncomfortable questions is being pried open on that front.
“There are unique players in the game and he’s one of them, but sometimes they’re not there and before you know it they can end the game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said of Panarin. Told. “And they have that unique ability. You notice him every time he’s on the ice, but to me he’s a threat. You feel it.
“I think we’ve probably done a good job just having that awareness. As we know, when he’s on the ice, he better be solid and that’s probably a lot of our success.” I think that’s part of it. If you give him a few feet, it goes into your net. That’s what a player can do.”
Blake Wheeler has returned to full-contact practice after injuring his right foot in February, but Laviolette doesn’t appear to be considering returning the forward to the lineup anytime soon.
“We’re working on getting him up to speed and that’s where he is right now,” Laviolette said. “So he’s been working hard in practice, but as you can see, he’s only gotten this far recently, so we want to make sure he’s in a position to be successful.”
Jacob Trouba has been named the recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. The award is “given to a player who has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities for his team on and off the ice during the regular season and has played a leading role in the growth of his community” in the game of hockey. ”
Messier will select the winner after gathering a list of candidates from teams and league officials. Trouba is the first Ranger to receive this award since its inception in 2007.
The attorney and his wife Kelly raised more than $160,000 for the Garden of Dreams Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation this season, primarily through art sales.
Neither the Rangers nor the Hurricanes practiced Tuesday.
