New York Rangers: No need to panic about Panarin

Celebration soon turned to despair for New York Rangers fans after seeing Artemi Panarin exit Wednesday night’s game early with a mild groin strain.

Predictably, New York Rangers Twitter melted down and the 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils in the preseason opener took a backseat with everyone on groin watch for the rest of the evening.

Of course, it is natural to have a mild panic attack when one of the most elite players in the NHL and the new face of your franchise goes down, but let’s not get too carried away here.

After all, it has been described as a “mild groin strain” by the Rangers and he was taken out of the game as a precautionary measure.

And Head Coach David Quinn doesn’t seem too concerned and that was backed up by his bubbly demeanour after the game, which included a hysterical Kaapo Kakko impression. Quinn wouldn’t have been in such high spirits had he been genuinely concerned by the health of his shiny new toy.

"“It was just a mild groin strain,” David Quinn told the media. “More precautionary than anything, he should be fine.”"

Panarin has had his coming-out party as a New York Ranger now – and what a show it was – so it’s very possible that the Russian stud will be shut down for the rest of the preseason and won’t be rolled out again until the regular season gets underway against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct, 3.

Injuries unfortunately happen during the preseason and the Rangers were right to act quickly and take their star asset out of the game when they did. Panarin will now be wrapped in bubble wrap and shelved until the meaningful games roll around, leaving us just to reflect on what was a memorable first outing as a Blueshirt.

Of course, the damage was already done by the time Panarin called it a night with the elite playmaker having given an electric Madison Square Garden a tantalizing taste of what is to come.

Starting the night on a top line with Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko, Panarin came as advertised and looked right at home in a Rangers jersey.

But it was the power play that really sent a surge of excitement through MSG, with a first unit of Panarin, Chris Kreider, Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko and Jacob Trouba absolutely dominating the Devils.

On the first man advantage the Rangers’ new look power play really went to work, with slick passing resulting in a flurry of rattled posts as Kakko and Trouba in particular caused havoc for New Jersey.

And then it was time for Panarin’s starring moment to arrive with the playmaker unleashing a wicked and deadly one timer past Devils goalie Corey Schneider with Trouba and Kakko getting the helpers.

It was a true ‘Welcome to New York’ moment and what is even more impressive is how cohesive the power play unit looked after only a few days together. Imagine the damage they can cause together once the regular season begins.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ power play was lauded time and time again last year for the vast array of weapons they have at their disposal, but on early evidence at least the Rangers’ revamped and improved man advantage could have the potential to be one of the most potent in the NHL.

It was a fun night to be a Rangers fan despite the loss which has no meaning given it is the preseason, and we should all feel more at ease today given the positive diagnosis on Panarin.

So, put those panic buttons away, get used to the idea that we probably won’t see Artemi Panarin until opening night and instead get excited by what we could have to look forward to based on the evidence served up on Wednesday night.