Who will Artemi Panarin pick on this year?

Artemi Panarin has tormented the New York Rangers since he was a rookie.  Who will replace the Blueshirts as his favorite team to play against?

Artemi Panarin has toyed with the New York Rangers for four years.  He made a habit of scoring  against the Blueshirts with 12 goals in 12 games.  He added six assists for an amazing 18 points in 12 games versus the Rangers.   No wonder he wanted to come to New York City, it’s where he has had his greatest success.

While he took pleasure in feasting on the Rangers, he has had some spectacular success against other teams.  The Rangers are just one of 16 teams that Panarin has averaged at least a point a game against during his career.

Even more impressive, they are one of only two teams that Panarin has maintained a goal a game pace against, with the other the team he just left, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Some comparisons

When you think about players who have done well against the Blueshirts, three names come to mind immediately: Alex Ovechkin, Jeff Skinner and Sidney Crosby.

Ovechkin has 52 points in 56 games against the Rangers, including 33 goals.   Over the last four years he has 11 goals and five assists for 16 points in 13 games.

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Skinner has 24 points in 33 games against the Blueshirts with 14 goals and 10 assists.  Over the last four years, he has seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 11 games.

Sidney Crosby is the one player who has been tougher on the Rangers than Panarin.  Crosby has 33 goals and 89 points in 67  regular season games against the Blueshirts.  Over the last four years he has 11 goals in 12 games and has 23 total points.   Ouch.

Crosby’s excellent play against the Rangers extends to the postseason. In 22 career playoff games against New York he has six goals and 15 assists for 21 points.  At least the Rangers won 10 of those 22 games.

Versus the Metropolitan Division

It is most important for Panarin to do well against the Metropolitan Division and the great news is the Met has been the Breadman’s patsies.

Here are his per game averages against the four divisions:

Division     Goals per game   Points per game
Metropolitan         0.54                         1.17
Central                    0.30                          0.95
Atlantic                   0.31                          0.94
Pacific                     0.26                          0.89

That’s pretty stunning production against the Met.   The really good news is after the Rangers, his favorite opponents have been the Blueshirts’ arch-rivals, the Devils, Islanders and Flyers.  He has played each of those teams 12 times in his career and has seemingly scored at will.

He has six goals and 17 points (1.42 PPG) against the Flyers.  He has  five goals and 16 points (1.33 PPG) against the Devils and he has torched the Islanders for five goals  and 15 points (1.25 PPG).

He has also “owned” the Penguins with nine goals and 15 points in 12 games.

No Ranger has had that kind of success.  Mika Zibanejad has a 0.84 PPG average against the Devils, but his numbers are nowhere near those of Panarin.

The trouble spots

There are some teams that give Panarin trouble.  Three teams have held Panarin to a points per game ratio of 0.50 or less.  He has two goals and six points in 12 games (0.50 PPG) against Carolina.  Anaheim has held him to only one goal and four points in ten games (0.40 PPG).

The team that gives him the most trouble?  The Tampa Bay Lightning.  In 10 career games versus Tampa, Panarin has a measly one goal and one assist.   That regular season lack of success did not carry over into the playoffs.  In the Blue Jackets’ four game sweep of the Lightning last spring, Panarin had two goals and three assists and was a plus four.

The good news is we won’t be seeing this again (at least against the Rangers):

The Artemi Panarin show is just beginning on Broadway.  He is a star who can rise to the occasion when needed.  If his past production is any indication, the addition of the Breadman will help the Blueshirts in their grudge matches against Metropolitan Division rivals.  It will be fun to watch.