Panarin on his way to the All-Star Game, Zibanejad needs help to get there

“Hey now, you’re an all-star, get your game on, go play”. Borrowing from the famous Smash Mouth hit, that’s exactly what New York Rangers forward Artemi will be doing this month.

After taking The Big Apple by storm in his first season with the New York Rangers, Panarin was announced as part of the Metro Division roster that will be heading to St. Louis for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.

It was no surprise really given how fantastic Panarin has been for the Blueshirts so far this season, making every single dollar of the $81,500,000 the Rangers shelled out on him absolutely worth it.

Panarin has been a home run signing and he’s already produced a plethora of highlight-reel plays and moments.

Through 39 games, the Russian stud has put up 22 goals and 33 assists for 55 points with a plus/minus rating of +21, while 14 of Panarin’s points have come on the power play.

He leads the NHL in even strength points (41), he ranks sixth in points (55) and he leads all NHL forwards in plus/minus in 2019-20.

Furthermore, Panarin led the National Hockey League in even strength points (18) in December, while he was tied in the league for points with 22.

So, it would have been criminal had Panarin not been included on the rosters for the 2020 All-Star Game, which will take place on January, 24-25.

What is surprising, however, is the fact that this will be Panarin’s first-ever All-Star Game, which completely stunned me.

Given that the 28-year-old has tallied 70 or more points in each of his four NHL seasons, it seems shocking to me that the forward hasn’t been an All-Star before.

That has finally been put right this year and Panarin seems perfectly suited to both the skills competition and the 3-on-3 All-Star game itself, so the festivities will be worth watching for our favorite Russian alone.

And Artemi Panarin could well be joined by a fellow New York Ranger, too.

Starting from today, Blueshirts will be able to vote for Mika Zibanejad in the “Last Men In” ballot, with one player from each division eligible to go to St. Louis if they get the most votes.

Given the year Zibanejad has had, he is worthy of being an All-Star although the fact that he missed 13 games with an upper-body injury coupled with Panarin’s insane year no doubt hurt his case.

And he’ll face stiff competition when it comes to the “Last Men In” vote given that the likes of Kris Letang and Claude Giroux are also on the ballot from the Metro Division.

Comparing the numbers quickly though, Zibanejad has more points than all but one of the forwards on the Metro Division “Last Men In” ballot, a list that includes Claude Giroux, Nick Foligno, Nico Hischier, Brock Nelson and T.J. Oshie.

Zibanejad’s biggest competition seems to come from Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen, who has 40 points (seven goals, 33 assists) through 40 games. Though he has fewer points, Zibanejad’s average of  1.19 points per game is better than Teravainen’s 1.00.

At the end of the day, the All-Star Game has turned into a bit of a dog & pony show, but it would be nice if Zibanejad also received recognition for his year.

You can vote for Zibanejad on the “Last Men In” ballot either at nhl.com/vote or by voting on the NHL app.

And, let’s face it, it would be pretty fun to see both Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad strut their stuff together in St. Louis.