Last season was an unforgettable one for Artemi Panarin, who scored 120 points and 49 goals, a pair of career highs. And what impressed me even more about Panarin was that he did all of this in his age-32 season and his ninth in the NHL.
It implies the ever-growing consensus that age is just a number, or better yet, the number of laps you completed around a star that we call the sun. Anyway, I can talk to you all day about my fascination with how many miles the Earth travels in a given year, the speed it’s traveling at, and the curious fact that it (and you) is located about 1.6 million miles from where it began in a 24-hour span in the solar system, but NY Rangers hockey is the more important issue at the moment.
So tonight, the Blueshirts cannot afford to underestimate a rather easy opponent in the Penguins, and yes, I might get some heat for that quip from those in the Steel City. But these aren’t the same Penguins that we were used to watching in the mid-to-late 2010s, seasons that culminated in a couple of Stanley Cups.
That said, the star player needs to, and will, make an impact tonight when the Rangers square off with the Pens.
Artemi Panarin can pick up in Game 1 where he left off last season
Last year, Panarin led the Rangers in goals scored by double-digits, with only Chris Kreider, 39 goals, taking second place. He was more of a playmaker than a goal scorer last season against Pittsburgh, finding the back of the net twice while logging four assists, good for six points.
But given how mediocre the Penguins are, once again, on defense and at goaltending, mediocre in this sense being very average, and Panarin looking to build on what was his best season yet to get off on the right foot in proving it was no fluke, it’s easy to see him enjoying a big game.
Sure, you could put players like Kreider here, as the Blueshirts have a dangerous set of scorers all over their top six, and you can even argue their top nine. But if I’m giving the edge to one player, it’s Panarin.
Overall, this is a game I can see him scoring once and contributing multiple points in what should be a winning effort before the Blueshirts face an upstart Utah Hockey Club, who got the best of the Chicago Blackhawks in front of a hometown audience.