New York Rangers: Three Treats of 2023-24 Season So Far
By Conor Power
Toasty Breadman
You have to start with how hot the breadman is. Artemi Panarin has started the season like a man on a mission. Whether it’s the fact all his hair is gone and he’s not carrying the extra weight, or the man went away to work on whatever was wrong during the summer, the Rangers star winger is on absolute fire right now. Determined to make amends for how his season ended, the Russian winger has been superb for the Blueshirts.
With five goals and ten assists for 15 points in nine games, Panarin has started the season on a heater. A nine-game point streak for the Breadman has the Rangers’ top scorer sitting just three points back of Jack Hughes at the top of the NHL point-scoring race. With the Rangers dynamo putting up points like it is nobody’s business, there can be a large portion of the fanbase relaxing after some thought he would regress.
Panarin’s play with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere has been unbelievable. Some have lovingly dubbed it the “French Toast” line because of how hot the Breadman has been with the Quebecois winger on the other side of the ice. It’s been a strong line for the Blueshirts, but Panarin has not been finding the bulk of his success here. This line has been good but hasn’t produced as well as Panarin’s numbers indicate.
Eight of his 15 points have come on the powerplay. Some people would try to put an asterisk on his production totals knowing this, so I will leave it up to you if you want to do that. However, I see many people do not care what the situation in the game is when Panarin is putting up points. They want him to produce like the lite player we all know he can be.