New York Rangers: Panarin’s star turn, other takeaways from Sharks win

2. The Panarin show

Artemi Panarin has been playing at an elite level all season but he arguably had one of his most dominant offensive nights on Thursday.

Having achieved two hat tricks in his NHL career – both, ironically, against the Rangers – the Russian stud completed his first treble in a NYR jersey.

Panarin gave the Rangers the lead in the second period after executing a perfect shot past Martin Jones from the right circle.

He then tallied his 13th point on the power play after recording a secondary assist on Mika Zibanejad’s power play goal, before coming up clutch in the final minutes of the third period.

With the Rangers holding a 4-3 lead, Panarin gave his team some breathing room after controlling a blocked shot before blasting a wrister beyond Jones.

And, minutes later, Panarin registered his first hat trick as a New York Ranger thanks to an empty-netter which was also his fourth point of the night.

It was just a huge night from Panarin who has taken Broadway by storm, and he’s establishing himself as a firm fan’s favorite already.

Artemi Panarin now has 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points on the year, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he matches his 87 points total from last year with the Columbus Blue Jackets.